Background and Objective: The nature of health communication is changing as people increasingly seek health information on the internet. The objective of this study was to investigate how hospital websites utilize a variety of e-health...
moreBackground and Objective: The nature of health communication is changing as people increasingly seek health information on the internet. The objective of this study was to investigate how hospital websites utilize a variety of e-health tools; online communication technologies such as social media, video, podcasts, and interactive formats.
Methods: An inductive content analysis was performed on the websites of 14 top-ranked US hospitals from January 5, 2011 to February 28, 2011. A total of 1,330 web pages were analyzed to identify the types of online communication technologies utilized by hospitals to provide e-patients with health information.
Findings: The findings provided an exploratory look at how hospitals provide web-based health information to patients. All hospitals used social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. Most hospitals offered web-based broadcasting of health information. Online health tools such as body mass index (BMI) calculators and health dictionaries were also a common website feature. Less frequently employed were mobile applications, hospital-patient interaction tools and health blogs.
Implications: The convergence of interactive media formats with web-based communication tools will likely enhance e-patient education and promote patient involvement in ways that alter traditional health care interactions, and may lead to enhanced levels of participatory medicine.
