Background: The Internet has potential as a medium for health behavior change programs, but no controlled studies have yet evaluated the impact of a fully automated physical activity intervention over several months with real-time objective feedback from a monitor. Objective: The aim was to evaluate the impact of a physical activity program based on the Internet and mobile phone technology provided to individuals for 9 weeks. Methods: A single-center, randomized, stratified controlled...

Background: Research increasingly supports the conclusion that well-designed programs delivered over the Internet can produce significant weight loss compared to randomized controlled conditions. Much less is known about four important issues addressed in this study: (1) which recruitment methods produce higher eHealth participation rates, (2) which patient characteristics are related to enrollment, (3) which characteristics are related to level of user engagement in the program, and (4)...

Background: Attrition, or dropout, is a problem faced by many online health interventions, potentially threatening the inferential value of online randomized controlled trials. Objective: In the context of a randomized controlled trial of an online weight management intervention, where 85% of the baseline participants were lost to follow-up at the 12-month measurement, the objective was to examine the effect of nonresponse on key outcomes and explore ways to reduce attrition in follow-up...

Background: Most work sites engage in some form of health promotion programming designed to improve worker health and reduce health care costs. Although these programs have typically been delivered through combinations of seminars and print materials, workplace health promotion programs are increasingly being delivered through the Internet. Objective: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based multimedia health promotion program for the workplace, designed...

Background: Heavy drinking is responsible for major health and social problems. Brief interventions have been shown to be effective, but there have been difficulties in reaching those who might benefit from them. Pilot studies have indicated that a Web-based intervention is likely to be acceptable to heavy drinkers and may produce some health benefits. However, there are few data on how many people might use such a program, the patterns of use, and potential benefits. Objectives: The aim...

Background: Open source (OS) software is continuously gaining recognition and use in the biomedical domain, for example, in health informatics and bioinformatics. Objectives: Given the mission critical nature of applications in this domain and their potential impact on patient safety, it is important to understand to what degree and how effectively biomedical OS developers perform standard quality assurance (QA) activities such as peer reviews and testing. This would allow the users of...

Background: Internet mailing lists are an important and increasingly common way for cancer survivors to find information and support. Most studies of these mailing lists have investigated lists dedicated to one type of cancer, most often breast cancer. Little is known about whether the lessons learned from experiences with breast cancer lists apply to other cancers. Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare the structural characteristics of 10 Internet cancer-related mailing lists and...

Background: Internet-based clinical trial matching systems have the potential to streamline the search process for women with breast cancer seeking alternative treatments. A prototype system was developed to leverage the capabilities of a personal health record system for the purpose of identifying clinical trials. Objective: This study examines how breast cancer patients perceive and interact with a preliminary version of an Internet-based clinical trial matching system, while taking into...

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent and serious medical condition characterized by repeated complete or partial obstructions of the upper airway during sleep and is prevalent in 2% to 4% of working middle-aged adults. Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the gold-standard treatment for OSA. Because compliance rates with CPAP therapy are disappointingly low, effective interventions are needed to improve CPAP compliance among patients diagnosed with OSA....

Background: PubMed is the largest bibliographic index in the life sciences. It is freely available online and is used by professionals and the public to learn more about medical research. While primarily intended to serve researchers, PubMed provides an array of tools and services that can help a wider readership in the location, comprehension, evaluation, and utilization of medical research. Objective: This study sought to establish the potential contributions made by a range of PubMed...

Background: While it is known that the majority of pages on the World Wide Web are in English, little is known about the preferred language of users searching for health information online. Objectives: (1) To help global and domestic publishers, for example health and food agencies, to determine the need for translation of online information from English into local languages. (2) To help these agencies determine which language(s) they should select when publishing information online in...

This paper describes the objectives of a collaborative initiative that attempts to provide the evidence that increased information technology (IT) capabilities, availability, and use lead directly to improved clinical quality, safety, and effectiveness within the inpatient hospital setting. This collaborative network has defined specific measurement indicators in an attempt to examine the existence, timing, and level of improvements in health outcomes that can be derived from IT investment....

Much has been written about insufficient user involvement in the design of eHealth applications, the lack of evidence demonstrating impact, and the difficulties these bring for adoption. Part of the problem lies in the differing languages, cultures, motives, and operational constraints of producers and evaluators of eHealth systems and services. This paper reflects on the benefits of and barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration in eHealth, focusing particularly on the relationship between...