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Health information on the web can help chronically ill
According to researchers at University College London, interactive websites can help people with long-term conditions such as depression, heart disease and HIV/AIDS.
Dr Elizabeth Murray and her team examined 24 studies involving 3,739 people who all had chronic conditions. They found interactive sites were of greater benefit to people than those with information alone, or not using sites at all. They made people feel better informed and more socially supported.
According to Maggie Alexander, Chief Executive of the Brain and Spine Foundation, this research ties in with the quality requirements published in the National Service Framework for long-term conditions. According to the Department of Health, this framework will transform health and social care services and lead to millions of people with long-term conditions getting:
- a faster diagnosis;
- more rapid treatment; and
- a comprehensive package of care.
The Foundation contributed extensively to the NSF and was able to draw on the views of patients. The Foundation emphasised the importance of access to high quality, timely, appropriate information as part of a comprehensive package of care and enthusiastically supports the inclusion of information as a central component. This includes access to evidence-based health information websites with a high level of interactivity and accessibility.
For more information about the research by the UCL team, visit the BBC News website.
