Seeking health advice on the Internet in patients with health problems: a cross-sectional population study in Slovenia.

AIM: To determine the one-month prevalence of the seeking of web-based health information in the general adult population and to identify the symptoms associated with more frequent searching for information online.
METHODS: This was an observational cross-sectional study in a representative sample of 1,002 randomly selected Slovenian inhabitants. We used the method of computer-assisted telephone interviews. The questionnaire consisted of demographic questions, questions about the prevalence and duration of pre-selected symptoms in the past month, questions on the presence of chronic disease and a question about using the Internet for seeking health advice in the past month.
RESULTS: Among 774 respondents who reported having had symptoms in the past month, 25.8% of them reported seeking health information on the Internet. The factors found to be independently associated with the seeking of health information on the Internet were a younger age, a higher education level and the presence of constipation, irritability, fatigue, memory impairment and excessive sweating in the past month.
CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that the Internet was a common source of health information in the general adult population, particularly used for symptoms which are common but not well defined and not associated with a particular disease.