Background: Information about health prevention can contribute to the awareness and the knowledge of consumers and patients about their own health. Messages originating from other users (cases) can be perceived as more credible and hence more persuasive. With this in mind, we have developed an informative website called SeniorGezond, which includes a case-based tailoring component, in the domain area of fall incidences.
Objectives: To investigate whether the use of cases is suitable for presenting and tailoring educative health information; and to gain insights in the user's opinion about the use of cases to provide tailored preventive information.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews, and observations. Participants were elderly, family caregivers and healthcare professionals.
Results: Users were able to find relevant cases for their problems, but had a mixed reaction on the usefulness and appreciation of the cases.
Conclusions: There is a need for a delicate balance between a recognizable story with all the important health information and good readable and concise information. A good text structure is required to support this. While cases do have potential in health education, further research is needed in order to identify the necessary requirements which will make the cases successful.