Web site design and development issues: the Washington State Breast and Cervical Health Program Web Site Demonstration Project.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the development of a customized Web site to assist Breast and Cervical Health Program (BCHP) outreach staff in a community screening program and to evaluate the Internet knowledge and access issues and barriers of outreach staff during a two-year period using the Web site.


METHODS
Knowledge, access issues and barriers, and descriptive questionnaires.


METHODS
Comprehensive cancer center in Seattle, WA, workshops, and presentations around the state.


METHODS
BCHP outreach workers, screening coordinators, and almost exclusively public health nurses from regional health districts and program-contracted clinics.


METHODS
Web site development was based on continuous input from sample. Detailed descriptions of computer and Internet resources and opinions about the use and usefulness of the BCHP Web site came from a 1996 evaluation and 1998 follow-up conducted using mailed and online Web questionnaires. "Hits" to the Web site were monitored monthly.


METHODS
Computer and Internet resources were used along with monthly Web site traffic and opinions about the use and usefulness of the BCHP Web site in the outreach program.


RESULTS
Use of the BCHP Web site has risen steadily over two years to reach a stable plateau. User evaluations show a marked increase in the adoption of the Internet as a working tool. Users believe the Internet is becoming increasingly important to their work. More training and familiarization with the Web is needed.


CONCLUSIONS
The Web is an efficient medium for improving communication and providing easy access to resources within the BCHP program.


CONCLUSIONS
Public health programs with meager resources can benefit from the relatively inexpensive use of customized and versatile Web sites.
Bush
N E
NE
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
Wooldridge
J
J
Foster
V
V
Shaw
K
K
Brown
P
P
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D020407:Internet; D008403:Mass Screening; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014861:Washington