Use and perception of internet for health related purposes in Germany: results of a national survey.

Objectives: Patient empowerment through the Internet is seen as a chance to improve patient-physician communication. Studies on the prevalence of Internet use for health related purposes and on how patients perceive those technologies are still rare. We therefore studied perception of and trends in health related Internet use.

European citizens' use of E-health services: a study of seven countries.

Background: European citizens are increasingly being offered Internet health services. This study investigated patterns of health-related Internet use, its consequences, and citizens' expectations about their doctors' provision of e-health services.

Methods: Representative samples were obtained from the general populations in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Latvia.

German healthcare consumer's perception of the Internet as a source of health related information.

Objective: To determine the extent to which German health-care consumers seek health related information on line and their perceived importance of the internet, as compared to other sources of health information.

Research Design: Computer-assisted telephone interviews through which surveys were conducted concomitantly in seven European countries, including Germany. The instrument of the survey was a questionnaire designed in English and subsequently translated in German using a dual focus approach.