Provides a summary of a Department of Health funded research study investigating performance and impact of four pilot digital interactive television services in the consumer health field. These were launched in various locations in the UK in 2001. Text and video, interactive and transactional...

The British Life and Internet Project was launched in 2002 to explore the way people use the Internet in Britain. It will survey people online throughout each year on a range of topics linked to the use of the Internet. In the first survey that was conducted, just before Christmas 2002,...

In the UK, both anecdotal and research evidence points to ever greater and more sophisticated use of the Web to provide health information and advice. The study reported here adds to this research with an online survey of Internet users’ reported use of the Web to access information about...

Identifies Internet health user types according to three factors: site attributes most favoured, health topics most sought, and the health sites they visited. Knowing what type of consumer uses a site is important, as this should inform menu structure and provide an understanding of why certain...

Examines the way the general public exploits the Internet for health information, the motives behind usage, attitudes towards issues such as quality concerns, and the extent to which Internet interventions affect the doctor‐patient relationship. Although a questionnaire survey was used (posted...

Presents research that was designed to explore the early take‐up of a pilot digital interactive television (DiTV) health information service (Living Health) by cable television subscribers in Birmingham, UK. Log data indicated real‐time viewing behaviour of subscribers to the cable network...

Touch‐screen kiosks are located in a variety of locations to provide the public with ready access to health information. This paper examines, via a questionnaire, the characteristics of adult users of a surgery‐based kiosk. The Esk Medical Centre is in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh. Just under...

An online survey was run to investigate the broadband Internet users in Britain. A sample of 1,594 Internet users replied to questions that asked them about their different uses of the Internet and reasons for using this medium. Comparisons were made between respondents (33 per cent) who said...

According to studies and surveys conducted world‐wide, government incentives and current legal frameworks, private initiatives and investments, technology available at a reasonable price, and public acceptance of the internet as an efficient medium for buying goods and services are driving...

In the case of health information the quality and authenticity of the digital information have always been a matter of major concern for health and information professionals. This paper seeks to explore these concerns from the consumers' perspective. It addresses issues around the consumers'...