New Pew Foundation Report confirms the double whammy of the chronically ill

According to the latest study by Susannah Fox of Pew, those with chronic disease in the US are less likely to use the internet for their health care needs, simply because they are less likely to have an itnernet connection.These people have the double problem of being ill and not having access to the internet.  

Susannah Fox will be in Paris for the Health 2.0 Europe conference, where she will comment on the patient panel featuring European patients.

Remember that a broadband internet connexion in France of around 30 euros a month provides unlimited internet connexion, unlimited long distance, and cable TV.

In the US, chronic disease is associated with the profile of an older, more education, more prosperous person than someone with chronic disease. To download the study :  l'étudeTéléchargement PIP_Chronic_Disease

Comments

[SusannahFox]

Thank you, Denise!

In writing this report, I was very aware of the power of data (telephone surveys, for a macro view) and the power of narrative (essays written by patients, for a micro view). I used both quantitative & qualitative data to effectively portray the current U.S. population living with chronic disease, but also because I knew that I needed both in order to hook the interest of various readers.

I see a parallel in patient communities: the power of data vs. the power of narrative. PatientsLikeMe vs. ACOR, to use an example from the upcoming Health 2.0 conference in Paris. PLM is primarily focused on data, ACOR is primarily focused on narrative.

Which is more effective for people with a life-changing diagnosis vs. a serious, but not earth-shattering, diagnosis? Which is more effective for someone who is recently diagnosed vs. a veteran of many years of living with a condition? Which one can scale up to thousands, even millions of people?

These are some of the questions I'd like to discuss in Paris.