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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 on the NHS Direct Web site), the questions asked were open, and invited free‐text “qualitative” answers. This method was a success in terms of the amount and richness of the data accrued. Results suggested that the Internet is exploited in a wide variety of ways, by users acting in a number of roles – patient, intermediary or professional. Some health professionals are now so comfortable with the Internet that they encourage Internet usage by their patients. Lay users demonstrated a high level of understanding of issues raised, and showed a (healthy?) scepticism regarding the information provided. Many users felt that their consultations with doctors had been enriched by Internet‐acquired information.

Sketches the key characteristics of the newly information enfranchised general public (the digital information consumers). Portrays the digital consumer as all‐conquering/powerful, short on attention, promiscuous, untrusting and – above all – interested in speed of delivery. Argues for a fundamental re‐think of the concept of the information “user”. The Web, search engines etc. are creating a level‐playing field and a homogeneity which results in academics behaving more like the general consumer and the general consumer behaving more like an academic. Considers the overall outcomes and benefits of information acquisition.

Provides the first exploratory analysis of the use of NHS touch‐screen information kiosks located throughout the UK. It examines, through a one month snapshot of the transactional logs of the kiosks, their use and makes comparisons between the types of organisation in which the kiosks are housed. Details of over 120 kiosks and nearly 47,000 user sessions and 310,000 page views were used for the comparison. The kiosks are proving popular, although some use appears to be of a cursory and seemingly unproductive kind. Surprisingly significant differences between kiosk locations were found. This early research reported here is part of an ongoing study of how users obtain health information by interacting with different digital platforms: kiosks, the Internet, and digital television. Comparisons are made between the results of this study and a similar study conducted by the authors on commercial health kiosks, those of InTouch With Health.

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 kinds of people visit certain sites. Web sites even in the same field will not appeal to all users. Much of this differentiation will come down to design and feel of the site, although site attributes and information needs also impact here. Data were obtained from an online questionnaire placed on the SurgeryDoor Web site, a site which provides consumer health information. In all a total of 1,068 responses were received. Shows that useful groupings can indeed be constructed. Users were also classified according to additional health sites visited, also a preference metric, and this additionally is related to site attribute preferences, information needs and user characteristics.

Reports on a qualitative study exploring a highly innovative digital TV pilot service. Focus groups of medical and health information professionals, “condition‐specific” subjects and “general interest” volunteers were recruited to obtain views about the videos generally, in terms of their content and presentation. Issues such as terminology used and the appropriateness of using video to deliver various types of information were also explored; the latter in the light of log statistics indicating relatively low use of videos as compared to text‐based services. Results indicated that those who used the services tended to be avid seekers of information, who saw the service as a first port of call to obtain general information for wider consultation later. Differences emerged between medical professionals and the lay public regarding the use of language and involvement of patients in the videos. Text was regarded as a better medium for conveying some types of information, such as simple facts that might need to be consulted on a regular basis.

During an evaluation of a digital interactive consumer health television channel (NHS Direct) on Kingston Interactive Television the prominence of the channel’s menus regarding the interactive element of its service diminished considerably over a period of four months. During this time the use of the channel declined significantly, a development that can be attributed, at least in part, to the reduction in visibility of the channel. A number of metrics (users, return visits, screens viewed, screens viewed during a visit, and time spent viewing) were employed to chart and explain the decline. Two changes to the positioning of the channel resulted in a drop of about one‐third in the number of users. Other metrics – page views and return visitors – saw similar declines.

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 health and their opinions about the advice that can be obtained there. Over a period of three weeks more than 1,300 people responded to an online questionnaire produced by The British Life and Internet Project; 81 per cent or 997 of the respondents were British. The prime purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain information on the characteristics of the users of health information Web sites, to obtain feedback regarding for what they used online health sites and what were the perceived outcomes associated with using online health information.

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 on which the digital health service was carried. A survey of users delivered a return sample of 723 subscribers. Log data indicated an initial surge in use that subsided and stabilised at a lower level. Over one third of cable network subscribers visited the digital health TV site at least once during a 20‐week pilot period. The most popularly visited pages concerned sex‐related information. In the user survey, just under one in four respondents had reportedly used the DiTV service. The user profile was oriented towards older men and young adult women. Over eight in ten users found the service easy to use and understand. Over half of users consulted the service in connection with a GP visit. Some evidence emerged that use of DiTV might substitute for consulting a doctor among some users.

This paper attempts an overview of the literature on issues relating to the electronic provision of health information for the consumer, to provide a context for current work being undertaken by the Internet Studies Research Group (ISRG) examining the impact of various electronic platforms. Reasons why there has been an increase in interest and demand for health information and issues such as information need, take‐up and use, are elicited from the literature, and discussed with regard to previous research and the findings from the group’s own studies. Problems inherent in electronic provision, such as the dissemination of unregulated information, and barriers to information take‐up, are examined in depth. The review concludes with an outline of the implications of the issues for both the current and future work of the ISRG and the wider research community.

The growth of the Internet and other digital media has opened up exciting opportunities for the provision of public services, for business and for personal transactions. Comparisons between the earliest forms of “online” research, in the form of telephone interviewing, and offline data collection via face‐to‐face interviews or self‐completion questionnaires, revealed that the modality within which research was conducted could affect research findings. In examining the evidence, this paper indicates that the use of online methodologies has important implications for sampling, response rates, quality of data produced, and operational practices in research projects. Online research is restricted to individuals with access to relevant technologies (e.g. the Internet) and where online technology penetration is limited, survey samples are unlikely to represent the general population. Online surveys, however, can produce quicker response rates than offline surveys and also richer open‐ended responses. The important point is to recognise the strengths and weaknesses are associated with different methodologies and what differences can exist between online and offline data collection procedures.