EMPIRICAL STUDIES doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2008.00662.x Use of the internet for health purposes: trends in Norway 2000– 2010 Silje Wangberg Cand Psychol (Research Psychologist) 1 , Hege Andreassen MA (Research Fellow) 1 , Per Kummervold MA (Special Consultant) 1 , Rolf Wynn MD, PhD (Associate Professor) 1,2 and Tove Sørensen MA (International Advisor) 1 Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø and 2 Department of Telemedicine and eHealth, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway Scand J Caring Sci; 2009; 23; 691–696 Use of the internet for health purposes: trends in Norway 2000–2010 Aim: The aim of this work is to study the 10 year trends in the use and projected use of internet for health purposes in Norway. This includes more detailed analyses of changes in latter years, current uses, valuation as source of health information, reported effects and projected developments. Method: Surveys on the use of the internet for health purposes have been conducted in Norway in the years 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Representative samples were drawn from the population, and interviews were conducted by poll agencies using telephone (CATI). Results: Internet use for health purposes in the Norwegian population has increased dramatically over the last 7 years from 19% in 2000 to 67% in 2007. If this trend continues, we estimate that 84% of the Norwegian population will be using internet for health purposes by the year 2010. Reading about health or illness is the most common activity, and the rated importance of the internet as a source of health information is increasing. The internet is also used more for ordering medicines and other health- related products. Forty-four per cent of those having used the internet for health purposes reported having searched for lifestyle-related information, and 40% reported having felt inspired to change health behaviour. Conclusions: The internet is an important source of health information, which is likely to increase in importance in the years to come. This study further underlines the po- tential of internet use for health promoting purposes, as well as the potential for exacerbating social disparities in health. Keywords: survey, trends, e-health, internet, consumers, patient roles. Submitted 15 April 2008, Accepted 21 July 2008 Background In Norway (2007), 66% of the population had used the internet on an average day, and 88% had access at home. Internet use was higher among men, younger individuals and those with higher education (1). Health information is one of the most popular topics on the internet as 80% of US internet users (2) and 71% of European internet users (3) have searched for health information on the internet. Previous research has indicated that patients in addition to wanting to change appointments and renew prescriptions, also use the internet as a diagnostic tool and for second opinions on information provided by health professionals (HP) (3–8). More research on the potential impact of internet use on public health has been called for (9–11). On one hand, the internet presents opportunities for combining great reach as a mass medium with good efficacy for support- ing health behaviour change through computer tailoring (12–14), empowerment (9, 15), reassurance (3, 7) and possibilities for increasing availability of social support (9, 10). On the other hand, internet may exacerbate existing socio-economic differences in health (9, 10), spread faulty health information (5, 16), contribute to medicalization (9) and overwhelming responsibility for own illness (15). Henwood et al. (17) warn against the reification of the internet by emphasizing that the internet is a medium with many features, and that it is the users who put meaning into it through their use and their construction thereof. Nevertheless, population surveys are important tools to monitor such trends. In Norway, the use of internet for health purposes has been monitored since 2000. The use of internet for health purposes in the Norwegian population increased from 19% Correspondence to: Silje Wangberg, Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine, University Hospital of North Norway, PO Box 35, Tromsø N-9038, Norway. E-mail: silje.camilla.wangberg@telemed.no Ó 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation Ó 2009 Nordic College of Caring Science 691