Use of an interactive web-based questionnaire to evaluate a breast cancer website

Objectives: Health-related information should be tailored to patients’ needs and requirements. Interactive features are required to allow refinement of information and feedback. Methods: A voluntary questionnaire was set up at www.thebreastclinic.com to allow feedback from patients and website visitors. Results: A total of 1089 questionnaires were completed between Aug 2000 and Oct 2001. 77% (n=799) had used the Internet previously to look up health-related information. With regard to the reasons visiting the site, 51% (n=351) women indicated a recent breast problem while 26% (n=267) had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. The most popular information types were benign disease (64%), malignant disease (62%) information on the current research field (67%), a discussion group (57%), operation details (53%), online consultations (62%), and the location of local clinics (57%). Conclusions: An interactive feedback questionnaire is a useful way to ensure that health-related internet sites are tailored to their users’ needs.