Consumer health informatics: a consensus description and commentary from American Medical Informatics Association members.
BACKGROUND
Although interest in Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) has increased, a consensus definition of CHI does not yet exist.


OBJECTIVE
To conduct a hypothesis-generating survey of AMIA members regarding definition and research agenda for CHI.


METHODS
We solicited participation among AMIA members in an Internet-based survey focusing on issues related to a definition of CHI.


RESULTS
One hundred thirty-five AMIA members responded. Participants indicated a broad spectrum of topics important to CHI including "self-help for disease management" and "patient access to their own medical records." CHI research was felt to rely heavily on public health methods such as epidemiology and outcomes research, a paradigm shift from traditional medical informatics. Responses indicated a perceived lack of funding and need for further research in CHI.


CONCLUSIONS
A working definition should emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of CHI, include consumer input into CHI design, and focus on public health approaches to evaluation.
Houston
T K
TK
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Chang
B L
BL
Brown
S
S
Kukafka
R
R
D003256:Community Participation; D003625:Data Collection; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D008490:Medical Informatics; D012955:Societies, Medical