Pew Report: Chronic Health Conditions Impact 45% Of American Adults, Contribute To 75% Of Health Care Costs
http://www.pewinternet.org/Media-Mentions/2013/Chronic-Health-Conditions-Impact-45-Of-American-Adults-Contribute-To-75-Of-Health-Care-Costs.aspx
“Chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer are considered preventable even though they account for well over half of the United States’ cost on health care treatments. Results of a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that almost half of the adult population in the U.S. is living with at least one chronic disease.
“Our research makes it clear that when the chips are down, people are most likely to get advice from a clinician, but online resources are a significant supplement,” Susannah Fox, lead author of the study and an associate director at the Pew Research Center, said in a statement. “Just as significantly, once people begin learning from others online about how to cope with their illnesses, they join the conversation and also share what they know.”
Clip: “Findings also indicated that 72 percent of U.S. adults living with a chronic illness did not have access to the internet, compared to 89 percent of respondents with no chronic illness. Eighty percent of people living with two chronic health conditions were more likely to keep track of health indicators, such as weight, diet, exercise, blood pressure, and blood sugar, compared to 70 percent of those living with one chronic disease and 61 percent of those who had no chronic diseases.”
This is a good collection development perspective since public libraries in particular do more reference on chronic diseases than emergency medicine.
Stephen
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