50% of Irish people seek health information or advice online, according to new research carried out by Behaviour and Attitudes on behalf of RCSI. The research comes as RCSI launch a series of public lectures addressing common illnesses and health related topics.
The research also found that:
- 1 in 5 Irish adults have never spoken to a healthcare professional about health concerns
- Mental health is cited as parents’ main health concern for their children.
- Adults under 25 are least likely to speak to a healthcare professional about health concerns.
- Cancer is women’s main health concern, followed by mental health, heart disease and stress.
- 2 in 5 women under 35 rate stress in their top three health concerns and 1 in 8 are concerned about fertility issues.
- Despite many turning to the internet for health information, 69% of the Irish public do not consider websites to be a trusted source.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences RCSI, said: “As educators and researchers, it is our responsibility to use our expertise, knowledge, and discoveries to foster improvements in health and education in our communities, our societies and around the world. The RCSI MyHealth Lecture series aims to do just that – to de-mystify the common health concerns affecting the Irish public, drawing expertise and insight from our team of researchers, and leading international health experts at the cutting edge of medical and healthcare developments.”
Methodology
The research was carried out by Behaviour and Attitudes Research among a representative sample of 1000 adults in Ireland aged 16+ between 18 and 31 July 2019.
Findings in detail
Main health concerns
Cancer is the main concern of women as 51% placed it within their top three health concerns, followed by mental health (39%), heart disease (34%) and stress (32%). One in eight women under the age of 35 cite fertility as a top health concern.
81% of parents cite mental health as a key concern for their children. Vaccinations (62%), drugs and alcohol (61%) and weight/obesity (54%) are also among the issues concerning parents. Those with children aged 0-4 years are most concerned with vaccinations, while parents of children aged 13-17 years are most concerned with drugs and alcohol.
Most trusted sources
Research shows that 50% of the Irish public seek information on medical issues and health concerns online. Furthermore, one in five adults claim to have never spoken to a healthcare professional about their health concerns. This equates to over 700,000 people at population level. Adults under 25 are least likely to speak to a healthcare professional about health concerns.
However, 61% of respondents claim to completely trust healthcare professionals as a source of medical or healthcare information, over family (25%), friends (15%) and media (6%). Online sites are the least trusted sources of healthcare information, with 69% of the Irish public completely distrusting these as a source of health information.
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About RCSI
RCSI is ranked among the top 250 of universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2019) and its research is ranked first in Ireland for citations. It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide. RCSI has been awarded Athena Swan Bronze accreditation for positive gender practice in higher education.
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