Identifying Consumers Who Search for Long-Term Care on the Web: Latent Class Analysis.

backgroundBecause the internet has become a primary means of communication in the long-term care (LTC) and health care industry, an elevated understanding of market segmentation among LTC consumers is an indispensable step to responding to the informational needs of consumers.

objectiveThis exploratory study was designed to identify underlying market segments of the LTC consumers who seek Web-based information.

methodsData on US adult internet users (n=2018) were derived from 2010 Pew Internet and America Life Project. Latent class analysis was employed to identify underlying market segments of LTC Web-based information seekers.

resultsWeb-based LTC information seekers were classified into the following 2 subgroups: heavy and light Web-based information seekers. Overall, 1 in 4 heavy Web-based information seekers used the internet for LTC information, whereas only 2% of the light information seekers did so. The heavy information seekers were also significantly more likely than light users to search the internet for all other health information, such as a specific disease and treatment and medical facilities. The heavy Web-based information seekers were more likely to be younger, female, highly educated, chronic disease patients, caregivers, and frequent internet users in general than the light Web-based information seekers.

conclusionsTo effectively communicate with their consumers, providers who target Web-based LTC information seekers can more carefully align their informational offerings with the specific needs of each subsegment of LTC markets.