Attributes of User-centered Evaluation for Health Information Websites

Abstract

Objective: Despite of increasing number of websites for health information, there have been few studies on the issues of enhancing the service quality of health information websites. In this article, we examine and identify the key service attributes of the websites for health information, thereby providing a direction to improve the website service quality. Methods: The research takes three steps to identify customers' requirements for health information websites. Starting from a comprehensive literature review and brainstorming, we narrow down the possible candidates of key service attributes as going through the steps. Lastly, conducted is an extensive customer survey followed by multivariate statistical analyses such as reliability tests, principal component analysis, discriminant analysis, etc. Results: Based on 250 questionnaires completed through the online survey, derived are 9 key service attributes for efficient operations of healthcare websites. These include reliability, information transparency, customer care, capability, publicity, ease-of-use, security & integrity, responsiveness, and elucidation. Conclusion: The research results presented in the paper will provide an efficient way of operating healthcare websites. Moreover, the insights from the study will be a good stepping stone toward a marketing strategy for the website providers under a fierce competition.