The majority of online Europeans don't want to learn more about prescription drugs directly from pharmaceutical companies, according to new research.

But the study, from Manhattan Research, found that a sizable minority - 40 per cent - did want more drug information from pharma, as long as it doesn't reach them via Facebook or Twitter.

The Cybercitizen Health Europe found that among consumers already using, or interested in, online information and tools from pharmaceutical companies, only 13 per cent wanted to access this content on Facebook and 5 per cent on Twitter.

In contrast, the study found 43 per cent of this audience would like to obtain pharma resources from websites about conditions and diseases.

It also found that the demand for learning about medicines from pharma varied by country, with online consumers in Italy showing the strongest desire for information while their counterparts in Germany were the least likely to be interested.

There was also variation among online health consumers depending on the condition they were interested in. People diagnosed with acute pain, osteoporosis and arrhythmia showed a higher interest in this type of information from pharma than the average online health consumer.

The report also outlined an area of opportunity for pharma to provide practical patient education, with online consumers indicating they are much more interested in accessing online resources such as disease and treatment information and condition management tools, than in online contests and games.

Manhattan Research's Cybercitizen Health Europe 2011 questioned 3,020 adults in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain in the third quarter.