Use of Internet information by women with breast cancer

Internet use is increasing rapidly each year. In January 2003, active Internet use in the USA was 122.2 million (43.6% of the population), and in Australia was 6.4 million (32.8% of the population). ¹

The paper by Raupach and Hiller discussed Internet use among women with breast cancer in Australia. ² Their survey of 266 women in South Australia was conducted during the month of October 1999. They conclude that less than 7% of women with breast cancer used the Internet for information and/or support related to breast cancer.

I and my colleagues have conducted a number of studies of women with breast cancer in the USA. ³ , ⁴ , ⁵ , ⁶ Our sample contained 188 women with breast cancer and data were collected only 1 year later, from October to December 2000. We reported very different results from the Australian study in that 42% of our sample used the Internet for breast health information. ⁴

Another conclusion of the Australian study was that women are more satisfied with information received through personal contact as compared with printed sources or the electronic media. ² In a couple of studies, ⁵ , ⁶ I and my colleagues used standardized and validated questionnaires to measure a number of psychosocial constructs. Internet information use was related to greater social support and less loneliness than those who did not use the Internet for breast health information or those who used the Internet for general use but not breast health information use. ⁵ These results suggest that Internet users receive positive psychological benefits when compared with non‐Internet users, who probably use the traditional sources of either personal contact or printed information. Similar results were seen for minority (African Americans and Hispanic Americans) women with breast cancer. ⁶

Do Australian women differ from those in the USA with regard to Internet use? The proportion of general (non‐health) Internet use clearly differs between these two countries; however, use of the Internet by the general population in Australia is now much higher than the 7% reported by Raupach and Hiller for women with breast cancer. ² The Australian census bureau reported that 35.2% of the population of South Australia used the Internet in the week prior to the 2001 census, ⁷ which is similar to the figure quoted for active use in the general population of Australia in January 2003. ¹

A study carried out in December 2001–January 2002 showed that 40% of all individuals in the USA use the Internet for health information. ⁸ This reported prevalence is similar to overall usage rates for the USA general population ¹ and to use reported by women with breast cancer. ⁴ It is likely that in 2000 and also now in 2003, more than 7% of individuals in South Australia used the Internet for either breast health information and/or support. I estimate that the prevalence of Internet information use is now around 30%.

Why is there a discrepancy between my estimate and the conclusions of Raupach and Hiller? It is possible that the demographics of Internet use in Australia changed drastically from 1999. In October 1999 there were approximately 7 million web sites worldwide (when the study of Raupach and Hiller ² was carried out), while in December 2000, there were approximately 25 million websites worldwide ⁹ (when we did our study). ⁴ The number of websites has continued to increase to approximately 40 million in June 2003. ⁹

My inclination is to believe that use of the Internet by Australian women seeking breast health information has increased at a similar rate. The results of Raupach and Hiller ² were most likely based on data collected immediately before the upsurge in Internet use. If this study were to be repeated in 2003, I would estimate that Internet use among women with breast cancer in South Australia would now be approximately 30%. This increase suggests that health care professionals should recommend Internet use to their patients as a source of both information and support. ¹⁰ Hopefully, new studies will be conducted in South Australia that will accurately reflect the current prevalence of Internet use by women with breast cancer.