BACKGROUND: The Internet and telecommunications technologies contribute to national health care system infrastructures and extend global health care services markets. The Cuban national health care system offers a model to show how a national information portal can contribute to system integration, including research, education, and service delivery as well as international trade in products and services. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this paper are (1) to present the context of the Cuban...

BACKGROUND: With the public’s increased use of the Internet, the use of email as a means of communication between patients and physicians will likely increase. Yet, despite evidence of increased interest by patients, email use by physicians for clinical care has been slow. OBJECTIVE: To examine the factors associated with physician-patient email, and report on the physicians’ adherence to recognized guidelines for email communication. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey...

BACKGROUND: US adults report suboptimal physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake. Innovative strategies to promote healthy behaviors are needed. Employee health promotion programs have been associated with reductions in health risks but are labor-intensive and costly to implement. Email and Web-based worksite programs have the potential to reach a broad adult population and to provide a cost-effective approach to employee wellness programming. OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility...

BACKGROUND: The field of eHealth holds promise for supporting and enabling health behavior change and the prevention and management of chronic disease. OBJECTIVE: In order to establish areas of congruence and controversy among contributors to the early development, evaluation, and dissemination of eHealth applications, as well as the desire to inform an evaluation research funding agenda, 38 semistructured, qualitative interviews were conducted among stakeholders in eHealth between May 2002...