Infertility and contraception along with adolescent and behavioural psychology were among the health issues in 2017 that saw a phenomenal growth in terms of online interactions with doctors last year, according to Lybrate — an online doctor consultation platform — Healthscape India 2017 survey.
It found that the number of interactions on infertility and contraception saw a 290% jump as compared to last year (2016), followed by interactions on adolescent and behavioural psychology, which recorded a 265% spike.
Number of queries
In Delhi, 23% people consulted doctors for infertility and contraception, while 31% reached out to them for issues related to adolescent/behavioural psychology. In Mumbai, 32% people talked about infertility and contraception and 31% consulted healthcare experts about adolescent/behavioral psychology.
Kolkata and Ahmedabad had the highest number of queries about infertility and contraception with 36% and 35% people, respectively reaching out to doctors for the same.
The other health issues that witnessed a remarkable rise have been: respiratory issues, diabetes and hypertension, vitamin and mineral deficiency and fitness and wellness.
The survey noted that while — Tier-1 cities contributed to the growth of interactions on infertility and contraception, majority of interactions from Tier-2 cities led to a staggering growth in interactions in the sexual health category.
Said Saurabh Arora, founder and CEO, Lybrate, “For three years, we have been committedly collating data and churning out useful insights which can play a key role in devising healthcare strategies in accordance with the existing healthcare realities prevalent in the country.”
The group also found that in Tier-1 cities, women in the age group of 18-24 have become proactive about consulting doctors online.
Taking charge
This has been after gaining awareness about such platforms and their credibility.
The growth though small in other age brackets in Tier-1 cities and across all age groups in Tier-2 and 3 cities is significant in terms of women taking charge of their health issues, the data shows.
As per the data, in 2017 while people in north India consulted heavily about respiratory issues, the issue of severe air pollution made people elsewhere also to press panic buttons and consult doctors about the same. Interactions around respiratory issues particularly grew in the month of November in Delhi and Bangalore.
