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What Women Want to Know: An Assessment of Online Questions Asked by Women Using an Ask-the-Pharmacist Service

Background: Almost three-quarters of American adults use the Internet. Eighty percent of these adults use online health information resources. Ask-the-Pharmacist (ATP) services provide individualized clinical information to online consumers. Objective: To characterize the content of online queries submitted by or on behalf of women to an ATP service. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of online queries submitted to the Blue Shield of California ATP service between 2003 and 2004. Questions were characterized and analyzed using Analysis ToolPak package and SPSS software (version 12). Results: A total of 1,056 submitted queries were analyzed. The mean age of female consumers was 45.6 years (range 18–88). Thirty-three percent inquired about drug adverse effects; of these, 19% reported experiencing acute adverse reactions. Drug efficacy or indications were the subject of 26% of queries. The most common drug-related queries were about antidepressants (8.6%) and contraceptives (8.2%), with a majority interested in the adverse effects of these drug classes. Over-the-counter products accounted for 4.9% of the queries. Contraception and dermatology were the most frequent indications listed for women aged 18–35 years; for women over the age of 50 years, menopause was the most frequent indication. Conclusions: The questions asked regarding the health of female consumers reflect the fact that consumers need more information to make treatment decisions. Women want to know the differences in drug efficacy and adverse effects among different medications. Healthcare providers should be aware of these issues to better anticipate women's healthcare needs. In addition, this information may help health plans to develop specific materials targeted toward these issues.