Directed Use of the Internet for Health Information by Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: Prospective Cohort Study

BackgroundHealth information technology has become common in the care of patients with chronic diseases; however, there are few such applications employed in kidney disease. ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to evaluate the use of a website providing disease-specific safety information by patients with predialysis chronic kidney disease. MethodsAs part of the Safe Kidney Care (SKC) study, an educational website was designed to provide information on safety concerns in chronic kidney disease. Phase I study participants were provided a medical alert accessory with a unique ID number, the Safe Kidney Care website, and an in-person tutorial on the use of the Internet and accessing the SKC website at baseline. Participants were asked to visit the website and enter their unique ID as frequently as they desired over the next 365 days or until their annual follow-up visit, whichever occurred first. Participants’ visits and dwell times on specific safety modules were tracked using embedded webpage PHP scripts linked to a MySQL database, enabling the collection of website usage statistics. ResultsOf 108 Phase I participants, 28.7% (31/108) visited the website from 1-6 times during the observation period (median follow-up 365 days). Median access time was 7 minutes per visit (range