Over a period of over a year more than 3000 people responded to an online questionnaire that was posted on the NHS Direct Online web site (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk). The prime purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain information on the audience that the web site attracted and to obtain feedback as to what they thought of the site in order to inform future development. This was particularly important as the site was developed quickly with a minimum of user input. Data collected included: the age, gender, institutional affiliation and geographical origin of users; how users found out about the site; sections of the site visited; whether they had used it before; whether they had used the NHS Direct telephone service; and what developments they would like to see. The study provides a rich array of user comment with regard to health information on the web. As a direct result of the knowledge gained through the questionnaire, the site was comprehensively redesigned in 2001.
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