Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2026
'Boden Food Plate': Novel Interactive Web-based Method for the Assessment of Dietary Intake
Published on: September 18, 2018
Evaluation of health-related Internet use in Germany
C Birkmann1, R C Dumitru, H-U Prokosch
1Department of Medical Informatics, Friedrich-Alexander-University, 91054 Erlangen, Germany. christine.birkmann@mik.imed.uni-erlangen.de
Objective:
An eHealth survey was conducted in a major Bavarian region in order to evaluate health-related Internet use in Germany.
Methods:
A specific questionnaire was developed by the authors to collect sociodemographic data as well as data on general and health-related Internet use. This questionnaire was distributed to patients visiting medical practices in the above mentioned Bavarian region.
Results:
Whereas many Internet users look for health-related information and products on the Internet, more advanced web-based techniques such as chat rooms and electronic patient records are hardly used.
Conclusions:
Although modern information technologies have the potential to enable citizens to handle their own health-related information in a self-determined and informed manner, at present the general population in Germany is hardly taking this opportunity.
