Objective: To determine whether people with serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorder (SUD) use the Internet to receive health information.
Methods: One hundred people with SMI were surveyed in community mental health clinics.
Results: Participants with SUD were significantly less likely to use the Internet compared to those who without SUD (.34 [.12-.95] p = .04). Internet users with SUD were significantly more likely to report accessing sites topically related to substance abuse (p = .01).
Conclusion: Few participants with SMI and SUD used the Internet. Attention to educating patients about quality health information on the Internet may be warranted.