Consumers and the Evolving Digital Health Information Journey (The Influential Caregiver Audience)

Background: Data from Edelman’s 2015 Digital Health Information Survey reveals that consumers—from millennials and baby boomers to seniors—are interacting with digital content and platforms in new and surprising ways. 

Program background: To date, the conventional wisdom has been that millennials rely more on digital channels than other age cohorts, that consumers tend to “tune out” digital advertising, and that search engines and news organizations are among consumers’ most trusted sources for reliable health information. Yet, Edelman’s survey suggests that consumers’ digital health information journey is evolving away from these long-held assumptions. 

Evaluation Methods and Results: Online survey of 1,500 U.S. adults who use digital health resources, across the following demographic and pyschographic segments: Millennials, ages 18-34 (n=420); Sandwich Generation, ages 35-64 (n=826); Seniors, 65+ (n=254); Caregivers, responsible for the health decisions of a parent or other relative who is not a child (n=200). The survey was fielded from May 22 to June 12, 2015. 

Conclusions: It’s time for social marketers to shift their approach to reflect this new digital reality. How? By recognizing that the generational digital divide is shrinking when it comes to health and that caregivers are key gatekeepers who rely on digital health information more than ever. By understanding that trust in digital content that’s sponsored is shifting. And, even more important for public health professionals, by realizing changing behavior or eliciting an action requires understanding the audience and the type of content motivates them to act.

Implications for research and/or practice: Megan Humphries, Group Head of Edelman’s Federal Government Services Practice will examine the implications of Edelman’s Digital Health Information Survey for social marketers, debunk myths about the way people use social media and the Web, and provide five key insights into how public health professionals can amplify the reach and impact of their digital efforts through the lens of social marketing campaigns, with a specific emphasis on the role of caregivers.