Elsevier

Ambulatory Pediatrics

Volume 5, Issue 2, March–April 2005, Pages 117-121
Ambulatory Pediatrics

Internet and Computer Access and Use for Health Information in an Underserved Community

https://doi.org/10.1367/A04-107R.1Get rights and content

Background.—The “digital divide” is the gap between those with access to information tools such as the Internet and those without access. The gap has been described by income, education, age, and race. Little information exists on computer and Internet access and use for health information by parents, particularly among populations of low income and low education level.

Objective.—To describe computer and Internet access and use, including health information retrieval, among low-income, urban, African American caregivers (parents).

Design.—Cross-sectional survey administered in pediatric waiting rooms of urban community-based health centers in a low-income area.

Participants.—Caregivers of pediatric outpatients.

Main Outcome Measures.—Access to computers, Internet access, and use of Internet for health information.

Results.—In 2003, among 260 African Americans who completed surveys, 58% had a computer and 41% had home Internet access. Fifty-two percent had used the Internet for finding health information. Ninety-three percent agreed or strongly agreed that there is useful health information on the Internet. Ninety-two percent agreed or strongly agreed that they would want to talk with a medical professional about health information on the Internet. Sixty-five percent of respondents had no additional schooling after high school. Annual household income was <$24 999 for 57%. Computer use and Internet access were significantly higher in caregivers with higher education and income.

Conclusions.—Most pediatric patients' families have home computers and believe there is useful health information on the Internet, even among low-income and traditionally underserved populations. Most would like to discuss Internet-based health information with their providers.

Section snippets

Study Design

We performed a cross-sectional study of African American caregivers who had brought a child to an urban pediatric community health center on one of the study days between March and August of 2003. Caregivers were eligible if they were at least 18 years of age and had self-identified as African American.

On 2 different days each week during the study interval, a trained research assistant in the waiting room of the health center approached all eligible caregivers. Those who were eligible and gave

RESULTS

We obtained 299 surveys from pediatric community health centers that serve predominantly African American patients. To make the sample more homogeneous, only African Americans (282 of 299, 94%) were included in the study. Furthermore, 22 (7%) respondents were excluded from analysis so as to include only those who had children in the home and who were parents, grandparents, guardians, or foster parents. We excluded those who answered that their relationship to the child was “other relative” or

DISCUSSION

Our results show that among African American caregivers (parents), those of lower income and lower education level are less likely to have home Internet access than are those of higher income and higher education level, even within a setting of a largely low-income urban population at a community health center. Despite these variations, more than 90% of caregivers agreed that there is useful information about health on the Internet.

The results pertaining to use by income and education level are

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Anita Chatterjee, Elva Anderson, William W. Lawrence Jr, Alan E. Simon, and the Children's Health Centers–Southeast staff for their assistance with the project. We thank Robert McCarter for his statistical expertise and assistance in revising the manuscript. We also wish to thank all participating families. Note: T.K. and K.L.P. have received funding from the National Library of Medicine to provide computer access for patients and their families.

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