Background: People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continue to experience dyspnea with activities of daily living (ADL) despite optimal medical management. Information and communication technologies may facilitate collaborative symptom management and could potentially increase the reach of such interventions to those who are unable to attend face-to-face pulmonary rehabilitation or self-management programs. Objective: The purpose of this randomized study was to test the...

Background: The Internet is an attractive medium for delivering individualized, computer-tailored behavior change interventions to large numbers of people. However, the actual numbers of people reached seem to fall behind the high expectations. Insight into factors that determine use of and exposure to these Internet interventions is important to be able to increase the reach and improve exposure. Objective: The aim was to identify potentially important factors that determine whether adults...

Background: Computer-based health-risk assessments are electronic surveys which can be completed by patients privately, for example during their waiting time in a clinic, generating a risk report for the clinician and a recommendation sheet for the patient at the point of care. Despite increasing popularity of such computer-based health-risk assessments, patient attitudes toward such tools are rarely evaluated by reliable and valid scales. The lack of psychometric appraisal of appropriate...

Background: Computer-tailored health education, a promising health education technique, is increasingly being delivered interactively, for example, over the Internet. It has been suggested that there may be differences in use and appreciation between print and interactive delivery of computer-tailored interventions, which may influence information processing. This may especially be the case for women, older people, and people of lower socioeconomic status. Knowledge about differences in use...

Background: Prior studies have shown that many patients are interested in Internet-based technology that enables them to control their own care. As a result, innovative eHealth services are evolving rapidly, including self-assessment tools and secure patient-caregiver email communication. It is interesting to explore how these technologies can be used for supporting self-care. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine user-centered criteria for successful application of...

Background: Mental illness is an escalating concern worldwide. The management of disorders such as anxiety and depression largely falls to family doctors or general practitioners (GPs). However, GPs are often too time constrained and may lack the necessary training to adequately manage the needs of such patients. Evidence-based Internet interventions represent a potentially valuable resource to reduce the burden of care and the cost of managing mental health disorders within primary care...

Background: The Internet is a significant source of medical information and is now being shown to be an important conduit for delivering various health-related interventions. Objective: This paper aimed to examine the utility and impact of an Internet intervention for childhood encopresis as part of standard medical care in a “real world” setting. Methods: Patients diagnosed with encopresis were given a Web-based information prescription to use an Internet intervention for pediatric...

Background: Patients in the United States commonly use the Internet to acquire health information. While a significant amount of health-related information is available on the Internet, the accuracy of this information is highly variable. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine how effectively students can assess the accuracy of Internet-based material when gathering information on a controversial medical topic using simple keyword searches. Methods: A group of 34 students...

Background: Patients who visit online support groups benefit in various ways. Results of our earlier study indicated that participation in online support groups had a profound effect on the participants’ feelings of “being empowered.” However, most studies of online patient support groups have focused on the members of these groups who actively contribute by sending postings (posters). Thus far, little is known about the impact for “lurkers” (ie, those who do not actively...

Background: Science has developed from a solitary pursuit into a team-based collaborative activity and, more recently, into a multidisciplinary research enterprise. The increasingly collaborative character of science, mandated by complex research questions and problems that require many competencies, requires that researchers lower the barriers to the creation of collaborative networks of experts, such as communities of practice (CoPs). Objectives: The aim was to assess the information...

Background: Guidelines for optimizing type 1 diabetes in young people advocate intensive insulin therapy coupled with personal support from the health care team. “Sweet Talk” is a novel intervention designed to support patients between clinic visits using text messages sent to a mobile phone. Scheduled messages are tailored to patient profiles and diabetes self-management goals, and generic messages include topical “newsletters” and anonymized tips from other participants. The system...