Media and internet ownership and use among mental health outpatients with serious mental illness.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether people with serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorder (SUD) use the Internet to receive health information.


METHODS
One hundred people with SMI were surveyed in community mental health clinics.


RESULTS
Participants with SUD were significantly less likely to use the Internet compared to those who without SUD (.34 [.12-.95] p = .04). Internet users with SUD were significantly more likely to report accessing sites topically related to substance abuse (p = .01).


CONCLUSIONS
Few participants with SMI and SUD used the Internet. Attention to educating patients about quality health information on the Internet may be warranted.
Clayton
Sara
S
Department of Psychology, VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Borzekowski
Dina
D
Himelhoch
Seth
S
Dixon
Lisa
L
Potts
Wendy
W
Medoff
Deborah
D
Hackman
Ann
A
Balis
Doris
D
D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010045:Outpatients; D010353:Patient Education as Topic