HEALTH C.H.I.P.s: opportunistic community use of computerized health information programs.

Computerized health information programs have been shown to have potential to improve knowledge, attitudes and behavior. However, relatively little is known regarding their capacity to engage the public for opportunistic, spontaneous use in community settings. Two studies were undertaken to provide insight to this practical issue. An intercept survey of adults from a shopping center where a computer kiosk had been located for 7 months was undertaken to investigate exposure to, attention to, use and acceptability of kiosks. A total of 99.7% of participants were exposed to the kiosk, 77.4% of these noticed it and 20.8% of these used it. Program acceptability was high; the most common barriers to use related to time constraints and disinterest. A utilization study was then undertaken to describe program utilization in greater detail, with kiosks installed in 18 community settings over 1 year. These were used 57,064 times (19.4 uses per kiosk per day). Additional data described demography of users, preferred topics selected, preferred formats and presentation styles, and a comparison of use across different community settings. Both studies provide insight to practical application of this health education strategy, indicating that is has substantial capacity to engage people for opportunistic use in community settings.