A survey conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project advised that approximately eighty percent of adult Internet users have searched online for
at least one major health topic in the past year. However, research published regarding the Healthy People 2020 goal of forty-five percent of the
population accessing online health information without frustration showed that less than forty percent of those seeking information online could do so
without issue. This number decreases when adjusted for race, age, education, and socioeconomic status. Hispanic participants reported the lowest rates
for obtaining health information online without frustration. The same demographic struggling with locating and validating the reliability of online health
information is also the demographic that is underrepresented in biomedical research.
We would like to use a two-prong approach. First, our organization
would like to start several health clubs with local community members and educate them to locate reliable health information online and adequately
evaluate its validity. We will then build on that knowledge and introduce them to the importance of clinical research and its part in advancing precision
medicine. This demographic is also affected by the digital divide, which further adds to the health literacy gap. Our organization intends to work in
partnership with the city’s Community Response and Equity Coalition to expand access to broadband and digital devices for families in underserved
areas.