FOR RELEASE MAY 13, 2010

Participatory Medicine – Chronic Disease in the Internet Age

The internet does not replace health professionals, but rather provides a way for people to gather and share information in a rapid-learning system that can best be described as "participatory medicine."

BY Susannah Fox

FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES:

Communications Department
202.419.4372
www.pewresearch.org

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Pew Research Center, May 2010, "Participatory Medicine – Chronic Disease in the Internet Age"

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Table of contents

Participatory Medicine – Chronic Disease in the Internet Age

The internet does not replace health professionals, but rather provides a way for people to gather and share information in a rapid-learning system that can best be described as "participatory medicine."

Susannah Fox will be the closing keynote speaker of the 4th annual Chronic Care and Prevention Congress in Alexandria, VA.

Highlights of her remarks:

  • A national telephone survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project finds that one-third of U.S. adults live with at least one of the follow conditions: high blood pressure, heart conditions, lung conditions, diabetes and cancer
  • 62% of adults living with chronic disease have access to the internet, compared with 81% of adults who report none of the conditions named in the survey
  • Once online, however, people living with chronic disease tap into an ever-widening pool of information including blogs, podcasts, doctor-rating sites and social network sites
  • The internet does not replace health professionals, but rather provides a way for people to gather and share information in a rapid-learning system that can best be described as “participatory medicine”