Developing a Health Care Intermediary-Delivered Intervention to Promote an Online Health Information Resource: Results from Formative Research

Abstract

This study describes the development of a health care intermediary-delivered intervention to promote an existing state-based health information Web site (NC Health Info) originally designed by health science librarians. Two focus groups and six key informant interviews were conducted with 17 health care intermediaries (HCIs) to: (1) identify key trends in HCIs' use of and attitudes toward online health information; (2) understand the barriers HCIs and their patients/clients face when using a health information Web site; and (3) design an intervention promoting the use of the online health information resource among HCIs and their patients/clients.

KEYWORDS:

• Consumer health information
• formative research
• health care intermediaries
• NC Health Info