Health information: an evaluation of the use of touch screen kiosks in two hospitals

Abstract

An exit questionnaire survey of 150 hospital users of a touch screen health information kiosk was undertaken. It was compiled by Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS to evaluate kiosk use and was reanalysed by researchers at City University to determine whether the information obtained went anyway to meeting patients' information needs. The study established two effective outcome variables on kiosk use: whether the information found answered the users' questions and if users intended, after using the kiosk, to find more information elsewhere. Two-thirds of respondents said that the information found had answered their question, whilst 16% said that after using the kiosk they still had further questions and intended to talk to a health professional to obtain this information. The variables found to have an impact on the information outcome included: gender, navigational ease, object of search, and ease of reading and understanding the information.