THESIS
2023
1 online resource (ix, 45 pages) : color illustrations
Abstract
As the Internet expands access to health advice at a relatively low cost, an increasing number
of people are turning to self-diagnosis when they are sick. However, limited effort has been
devoted to understanding whether and how the behaviour of online health information seeking
(OHI) affects individual health outcomes. Using a nationally representative survey data set
about the American public use of health-related information, we investigate the impact of OHI
via two identification strategies. We first exploit the exogenous diffusion of computer
equipment in each household as an instrument for OHI and then apply Propensity Score
Matching (PSM) as a validation. Supported by multiple falsification, validation tests and
robustness checks, we find a significant decrease in health status w...[
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As the Internet expands access to health advice at a relatively low cost, an increasing number
of people are turning to self-diagnosis when they are sick. However, limited effort has been
devoted to understanding whether and how the behaviour of online health information seeking
(OHI) affects individual health outcomes. Using a nationally representative survey data set
about the American public use of health-related information, we investigate the impact of OHI
via two identification strategies. We first exploit the exogenous diffusion of computer
equipment in each household as an instrument for OHI and then apply Propensity Score
Matching (PSM) as a validation. Supported by multiple falsification, validation tests and
robustness checks, we find a significant decrease in health status when people self-diagnose
online. We then report evidence that delayed care is one plausible mechanism contributing to
the negative effect of OHI. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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