Healthy Skepticism Library item: 11004

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

How European Consumers Use the Internet for Health Information
eHealthNews.EU 2007 Jul 28
http://www.ehealthnews.eu/content/view/658/26/

Full text:

In Europe, where strict regulations currently govern the communication of information about prescription medicines and treatment alternatives, the primary pharmaceutical marketing focus to date has been directed at the people who write the prescriptions: the physicians. Now for the first time, Manhattan Research reveals European consumers’ attitudes and preferences for finding health and pharmaceutical information with its new study, Cybercitizen® Health Europe.
Which pharmaceutical websites are European consumers visiting for information to help make critical healthcare decisions for themselves and their families? The study reveals the leading health and pharmaceutical websites based on the number of visiting European consumers, while detailing consumer satisfaction with site content, applications, tools, and features.

Top 10 Global Pharmaceutical Corporate Sites Ranked by Number of European Consumer Visitors:
1 Pfizer
2 Bayer
3 GlaxoSmithKline
4 AstraZeneca
5 Roche
6 Novartis
7 Merck
8 Sanofi-Aventis
9 Boehringer-Ingelheim
10 Wyeth
Source: Cybercitizen® Health Europe v7.0, Manhattan Research, LLC

In addition to reporting site visitation, Cybercitizen® Health Europe investigates numerous topics such as the following:

Overall media consumption
Frequency and types of Internet access
Technology adoption like MP3/iPod, PDA, SMS messaging, smartphones
Advanced activities online like online video, blogs, podcasting, wikis
Use and relative influence of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, friends and family
Search engine reliance and behaviour
Use and interest in health email newsletters, support groups, chat rooms, and disease management tools
Interest in Web 2.0 technologies for health and pharmaceutical information
The Cybercitizen® Health Europe research and advisory service also includes the ability for clients to analyze the data by select disease and condition groups including allergies, migraine, obesity, erectile dysfunction, acid reflux, depression, high cholesterol, hypertension, insomnia, asthma, arthritis, anxiety, diabetes, heart disease, and menopause.

Cybercitizen® Health Europe is focused on key research topics and trends impacting the European consumer health marketplace. The study was fielded online among 4,302 European consumers from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal. The survey instrument was presented in the native language of each individual country.

About Manhattan Research
In addition to Cybercitizen® Health Europe, Manhattan Research conducts five annual research studies among consumers and physicians in the United States and in Europe. These studies include Cybercitizen® Health US, Taking the Pulse® Europe, Taking the Pulse® US, ePharma Physician®, and ePharma Consumer®. Each study serves a unique purpose and focuses on specific aspects of information technology adoption. Broad consumer and physician research is complemented by targeted analysis among more than 50 consumer therapeutic segments and 25 physician specialist segments. For further information, please visit www.manhattanresearch.com