Among a growing number of Americans seeking general health information and information about cancer, the Internet remains a frequent first source, even though the public's trust in online material about health has declined, reports a government study. At the same time, consumers voiced greater confidence in information received from healthcare professionals. The report, Cancer Communication: Health Information National Trends Survey 2003 and 2005, is based on data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a survey done every other year and sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

First conducted in 2003, HINTS surveys the U.S. civilian, adult population, to assess trends in the usage of health information over time and to study the links among cancer-related communication, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. The randomly dialed telephone survey recorded the responses of over 6,300 people in 2003, and more than 5,500 people in 2005.

The newly issued report provides a snapshot of how Americans are responding to changes in access to information and the abundance of health information. The data show a growing preference toward receiving health information - whether cancer-related or other health information - from a health care provider than from other sources, such as printed materials, friends and family, information specialists, and the Internet.

Use of the Internet as a source for cancer-specific information remained relatively unchanged during the study period. However, the number of people using the Internet to communicate with their healthcare provider, or their provider's office - e-mailing questions or setting up appointments through a website - increased from 7 percent in 2003 to 10 percent in 2005.

Use of the Internet to obtain health information about topics other than cancer increased from 2003 to 2005. In 2003, 51 percent of respondents reported looking for health information for themselves and 46 percent reported seeking information for someone else. In 2005, the number of people seeking information for others increased to 60 percent, with 58 percent seeking information for themselves.

Women were more likely to search for cancer information from all sources than men, and people aged 50 to 64 most frequently searched for cancer-specific information. Younger or more educated people were more frequent users of the Internet for health information.

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