Analysis of interactive continence health information on the Web.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe interactive information about continence health promotion for women that is available on Web sites identified by popular search engines or health/medical search engines or that is available on community-based or select health organizations' Web sites.

Methods: We used a variety of search services to search the Web for sites that disseminated information about continence health for women, for example, urinary incontinence, urine loss, and bladder problems. Two reviewers initially evaluated sites to determine if an interactive feature that provided individualized feedback was present. Web sites that had an interactive-with-feedback feature were further examined to delineate the purpose of the site and other descriptive characteristics. We evaluated each site according to content pertaining to continence health information.

Results: Most major search engines located more than 100,000 Web sites in the initial search; narrowing the search terms with the words "and women" decreased the number of sites. Only 13 sites with interactive-with-feedback features were located for further evaluation. E-mail was the most common interactive feature; none of the sites contained comprehensive information on continence health promotion.

Conclusions: Web sites exist and are informative in terms of continence health promotion, but they lack an emphasis on self-care and sufficient information to promote it. The functionality of computer technology and the Web has not been maximized for the purpose of delivering continence health information.