Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33851927›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021

Evolution of Online Health-Related Information Seeking in France From 2010 to 2017: Results From Nationally Representative Surveys.

Pauline Ducrot, Ilaria Montagni, Viet Nguyen Thanh, Anne-Juliette Serry, Jean-Baptiste Richard

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
7.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Online cancer forums and complementary and alternative medicine in cancer care: effects of ehealth literacy and psychological distress on use and attitudes.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
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  8. Online Health Information Seeking: An Italian Case Study for Analyzing Citizens' Behavior and Perception.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
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  12. The Use of Big DataFrontiers in psychology · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Pauline DucrotSanté publique France, French national public health agency, Saint-Maurice, France.ORCID 0000-0002-5459-5906
Ilaria MontagniBordeaux Population Health Research Center, Team HEALTHY, University of Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux, France.ORCID 0000-0003-0076-0010
Viet Nguyen ThanhSanté publique France, French national public health agency, Saint-Maurice, France.ORCID 0000-0002-5383-2404
Anne-Juliette SerrySanté publique France, French national public health agency, Saint-Maurice, France.ORCID 0000-0002-3921-0852
Jean-Baptiste RichardSanté publique France, French national public health agency, Saint-Maurice, France.ORCID 0000-0002-4193-9159
Santé Publique France · FRUniversité de Bordeaux · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGiven the rapid ongoing progression of the internet and increase in health information available from disparate online sources, it is important to understand how these changes impact online health information-seeking behavior of the population and the way of managing one's health.

objectiveThis paper aims at describing the evolution of internet use as a source of health information between 2010 and 2017, as well as the characteristics of online health information seekers, topics of interest, sources of information, and trust in retrieved information and potential impact on behavior.

methodsData from the French nationally representative surveys Health Barometers were used (N=4141 in 2010, 4811 in 2014, and 6255 in 2017). Evolutions over time were assessed using chi-square tests. Associations with sociodemographic characteristics and health status were evaluated using logistic regression models.

resultsThe use of the internet as a source of health information rose between 2010 and 2014 (from 37.3% to 67.9%, P<.001) but decreased significantly in 2017 (60.3%, P<.001). Overall, the profile of health information seekers compared with nonseekers did not change over time. They were more likely to be women, to be younger, to have a higher educational level, to have a higher household income, and to be executives. Between 2014 and 2017, the proportion of those who did not pay attention to the source of information significantly increased to reach 39.7% (P<.001). In 2017 as in 2014, general health-related websites remained the first source of information (38.6%) while institutional websites were the third source (8.1%). Most information seekers trusted the information found online in 2010 (more than 80%), with a slight decrease between 2014 and 2017 (P=.048). Among individual characteristics, trust in the information was the main determinant of the way of managing one's health (odds ratio 4.06, 95% CI 3.26-5.06).

conclusionsAfter a rapid growth in the internet use for seeking health information in the 2010 to 2014 period, a decrease was recorded in 2017, in parallel with a decrease in trust in the quality and reliability of information found online. These findings underline the need for public health authorities to increase citizens' eHealth literacy and to provide alternative trustworthy sources combining the popularity and accessibility of general health information websites.

Indexed as

Health BehaviorInformation Seeking BehaviorFemaleFranceHumansInternetReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and QuestionnaireseHealth literacyhealth informationinformation-seeking behaviorinternet

Identifiers

PMID33851927
PMCPMC8082381
OpenAlexW3122071428

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.