Italian hospitals on the web: a cross-sectional analysis of official websites.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although the use of the Internet for health purposes has increased steadily in the last decade, only a few studies have explored the information provided by the websites of health institutions and no studies on the on-line activities of Italian hospitals have been performed to date. The aim of this study was to explore the characteristics of the contents and the user-orientation of Italian hospital websites.

Methods

The cross-sectional analysis considered all the Italian hospitals with a working website between December 2008 and February 2009. The websites were coded using an ad hoc Codebook, comprising eighty-nine items divided into five sections: technical characteristics, hospital information and facilities, medical services, interactive on-line services and ex

SUBMITTER: Maifredi G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2868065 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature