5 Characteristics of mHealth Users

There are at least five characteristics typical of individuals likely to use mobile devices to find health information, according to a survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates.

Approximately 3,000 adults living in the United States were interviewed between Aug. 7 and Sept. 6, 2012 for this survey. According to the survey, 31 percent of cell phone owners have used their phone to look for health information. In a comparable national survey conducted two years ago, 17 percent of cell phone owners had used their phones to look for health advice.

Individuals with the following five characteristics were more likely to look for health information on their mobile devices, according to the report.

1. Smartphone ownership — 52 percent of smartphone owners gather health information on their phones compared with 6 percent of non-smartphone owners.

2. Race — According to the survey, Latino or African American smartphone owners are more likely to gather health information via a smartphone than individuals of other ethnic backgrounds.

3. Age — Individuals between the ages of 18 and 49 are most likely to use a smartphone for health information gathering.

4. Education — Those with a college degree are more likely to use a smartphone to gain information on health than those without a college degree.

5. Health status — Caregivers, those who recently faced a medical crisis and those who experienced a recent, significant change in their physical health are more likely than other smartphone owners to use their phones to look for health information.

More Articles on Mobile Health:

Report: 27% of Pediatric Physicians Prefer Text Messages for Communication in Patient-Care Settings
Winner of HHS App Challenge Uses Twitter Data to Track Health Trends
FCC Task Force Recommends 5 Goals to Adopt Mobile Health Quickly

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