title: E-loyalty towards a cancer information website: applying a theoretical framework.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide more insight into user perceptions related to e-loyalty towards a cancer information website. This is needed to assure adequate provision of high quality information during the full process of cancer treatment-from diagnosis to after care-and an important first step towards optimizing cancer information websites in order to promote e-loyalty.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were cancer patients (n = 63) and informal caregivers (n = 202) that visited a website providing regional information about cancer care for all types of cancer. Subsequently, they filled out a questionnaire assessing e-loyalty towards the website and user perceptions (efficiency, effectiveness, active trust and enjoyment) based on a theoretical framework derived from the field of e-commerce. A structural equation model was constructed to test the relationships between user perceptions and e-loyalty.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants in general could find the information they were looking for (efficiency), thought it was relevant (effectiveness) and that they could act upon it (active trust) and thought the visit itself was pleasant (enjoyment). Effectiveness and enjoyment were both positively related with e-loyalty, but this was mediated by active trust. Efficiency was positively related with e-loyalty. The explained variance of e-loyalty was high (R(2)  = 0.70).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that the importance of user perceptions is not limited to fields such as e-commerce but is also present within the context of cancer information websites. The high information need among participants might explain the positive relationship between efficiency and e-loyalty. Therefore, cancer information websites need to foster easy search and access of information provided.
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University/CAPHRI, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rik
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crutzen
authors.forename: Nienke
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beekers
authors.forename: Mies
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Eenbergen
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jongen
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Osch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D017028:Caregivers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035502:Trust
keywords: cancer; e-loyalty; information; oncology; user perceptions; website