Evaluating the Women's Health Matters Website

Abstract

This article reports on the findings of two evaluation sessions for the Women's Health Matters (WHM) website, a women's health website developed by Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre and The Centre for Research in Women's Health. Participants were women, primarily between the ages of 20 and 29, well educated, and enrolled in university degree programs. They have been using the computer and Internet for years, in particular, E-mail andthe World Wide Web. While they conduct web searches, most are not health information seekers on the web. However, they have positive attitudes toward the delivery of health information on the Internet. Participants viewed the WHM website prototype in a computer laboratory. They then completed several search tasks and a questionnaire, and discussed their perceptions of the website in a moderated focus group setting. They found the text-based content on the WHM website interesting, easy to understand, and useful. However, they experienced difficulty navigating the website using the website's navigational elements - hypertext links and search engine. They wanted to see more graphical elements added to the website, as well as communications channels, such as newsgroups, listserves and chatrooms, provided they are moderated by health care practitioners. They were not favorably disposed toward advertising on health websites.