Health Information Divide: A Study in Jammu Division

Abstract

The Internet is a primary part of the everyday life of contemporary Indian; they see it as a safe and confidential source of information on health topics. The aim of the paper is to describe the experience of searching health information on the Internet by respondents from Jammu region. The paper focuses on: examining respondent's access to the Internet; factors related to health information seeking on the Internet; and the factors that affect the accessibility of Internet and led to the digital divide in the society of Jammu region. The data analysis indicates that the respondents are more likely depending on the traditional information sources especially the personal contacts as compared to the Internet for their health information needs. They generally access the information regarding the child health, diet, exercises etc. There is a huge divide across the sample and variables e.g. age, areas, qualification, and their state of health among those who are dependent on the Internet. The paper concludes that the Internet to be used in an efficient way for health promotion it is necessary to gather more complete knowledge of the various aspects  of information (health) behaviour and identify the characteristics of those who have adopted it to seek information and led to the digital divide in this information world.