Faculty Publications

Online Health Information: Home Caregiver Population Driving Cyberspace Searches In The United States

Document Type

Book Chapter

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Social Media and Mobile Technologies for Healthcare

First Page

127

Last Page

146

Abstract

Increasingly, the healthcare burden of an aging population in the United States is being "relieved" through family members caring for aging and ill loved ones at home. Today, families are turning to mobile technology to lessen their burden and to cope with the stress of caring for loved ones through activities ranging from healthcare information searches to social interactions with online health communities. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze factors predicting the characteristics and context of the U.S. home caregiver population. In addition, this chapter explores how mobile technologies are helping to mitigate some of the weight placed on the family caregiver. The authors explore these questions using multivariate regression analysis and individual level data from the Internet and American Life Project. The findings suggest that interaction with others in online support groups may be more important for the e-caregiver than other online activities.

Department

Department of Political Science

Original Publication Date

6-30-2014

DOI of published version

10.4018/978-1-4666-6150-9.ch009

Link to Full Text

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