Delivering healthcare information via the internet: cardiac patients' access, usage, perceptions of usefulness, and web site content preferences.

Jones, Jenny; Cassie, Sarah; Thompson, Maimie; Atherton, Iain; Leslie, Stephen J.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To assess patients' usage of the Internet as a source of personal healthcare information and patients' perceptions of usefulness and content preferences of more locally focused online health-related material.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A paper-based survey was undertaken by a convenience sample of cardiac outpatients. Age, gender, Internet access, Internet usage, perception of usefulness of online information, predicted intention to use a local cardiology Web site if available, and preferred components to be included were recorded. Univariate and bivariate statistics were used.

RESULTS:

Two hundred thirty-seven patients responded (62.1% males). One hundred seventy-six (74.3%) used the Internet, with 126 (63%) using it daily. For patients who did not have direct access to the Internet, 26 (50%) had a family member to do this on their behalf. Thus, the majority of patients (202 [85%]) had access to the Internet at home or someone who could access it on their behalf. Internet usage declined with age (Kendall's tau_b=0.321, p

Citation

Jones, J., Cassie, S., Thompson, M., Atherton, I., & Leslie, S. J. (2014). Delivering healthcare information via the internet: cardiac patients' access, usage, perceptions of usefulness, and web site content preferences. Telemedicine and e-Health, 20(3), 223-227. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2013.0182

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2014-03
• Deposit Date: Feb 11, 2015
• Print ISSN: 1530-5627
• Electronic ISSN: 1556-3669
• Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 223-227
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2013.0182
• Keywords: Health care information; Internet; online infomation; user expectations; medicine
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/7548
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2013.0182