title: Web-based Health Educational Program in Saudi Arabia.
abstract: The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide an overview of a web-based health educational site created by the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH&amp;RC) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Sources of data included two interviews with Saudi IT personnel, three health educators, and two medical consultants working at KFSH&amp;RC. The interviews ranged between 45 minutes and 120 minutes. The KFSH&amp;RC website was also searched for the type of health information content posted. Results show that the KFSH&amp;RC web-based health educational site provides health information through a medical encyclopedia, a social networking platform, health educational links, and targeted health information for children, which includes tools such as games and coloring books. Further research is needed on the effectiveness of the KFSH&amp;RC web-based health education site in terms of improving knowledge and changing behavior of Saudi patients. The study recommends that targeted web-based health education strategies should be developed to reach large rural populations which have inadequate computer skills and limited access to the internet.
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Salwa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahkali
authors.affiliation: Prince Megren Data Mining Research Center (MEGDAM), Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Almaiman
authors.affiliation: King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH&RC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mahassen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alsaleh
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ashraf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elmetwally
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mowafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Househ
mesh_terms: D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D061108:Social Media / Q000458:organization & administration*