Searching for health info

The Pew Internet and American Life Project did a survey about how people find health information online.  The report includes a special section on how Californians find health information online, as opposed to the rest of the country's residents.  There is also a useful guide provided at the end of the report Medical Library Association: A User’s Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web (pages 32-42 of the PDF linked above).

Searchers typically start with a search engine, not a medical site.  They avoid sites with advertisements.  They will look at multiple sites for information.  The results of this survey aren't that surprising, but may alter the way you point users to health information in your library or on your library's website.