[Developments in the population's use of the internet for health-related purposes]. / Udviklingen i befolkningens brug af internettet til sundhedsrelaterede formål.

INTRODUCTION: We wish to study the development in the Danish population's use of the internet for health-related purposes. What has changed from 2005 to 2007? Who is the typical user and what exactly is the internet used for? MATERIAL AND METHODS: As part of a larger EU-funded survey, 1,000 randomly selected Danes between 15-80 years of age completed a questionnaire in the fall 2005. The same questions were put to 1.021 Danes in the spring of 2007 to study any trends. RESULTS: A total of 72% of the Danes use the internet when searching for information on health. This constitutes an increase of 20% from 2005. Personal contact with the general practitioner (GP) is still the most important source of health and illness information, but more than 50% also consider the internet to be an important or very important source of health information. Women are still more active than men when searching for health information. A total of 20% of the Danes have consulted their own GP online, which is a 161% increase. Also, it has become more important for the Danes when choosing a GP that he or she offers eServices. CONCLUSION: The Danes' use of the internet for health information purposes has increased. And when the Danes seek health and illness information, it is primarily used to decide if the GP should be consulted. The GP remains the primary source of information and the Danes consult with their GP more and more frequently via the internet.

[Danes and their use of the Internet for health-related purposes]. / Danskernes brug af sundhedsydelser på internettet.

INTRODUCTION: We wanted to examine how Danes use the Internet for health-related purposes. How much are the existing possibilities used? Who are the users? What are the consequences of this use? MATERIALS AND METHODS: In October 2005--as part of a large EU supported study--a telephone survey was carried out among 1000 randomly selected Danes between the age of 15 and 80. RESULTS: 60% of the Danish population use the Internet to seek health-related information. The Internet is especially used for health purposes by people with a high education, by women, by people with poor health and by people with children. Every fourth Dane experiences feelings of reassurance or relief after having read about illness on the Internet and this number is 3 times higher than the number of people that experience concern and anxiety. 3% state that they have changed their medication after having read information on the Internet and this is done without prior contact to their doctor. 8% of Danes have at some point consulted their doctor over the Internet, and if given the opportunity, 58% would read their own patient record online. CONCLUSIONS: For many Danes it is common practice to use the Internet for health-related purposes. However, the position of the general practitioner as the primary source of health-related information is not threatened. Danes use the Internet as a supplement to their doctor and many--especially women--use the Internet information in their dialogue with their doctor. Danes increasingly seek solutions to enable them to get online contact with the different players in the health care sector.