Background: The Internet is an important source for health issues and especially professional associations should offer reliable information. Since 2001 the professional German urological associations (DGU and BDU) have hosted a joint platform to inform patients. Because a complete relaunch is currently ongoing, we evaluated the users' needs and wishes.
Materials and methods: Using a pop-up on the website www.urologenportal.de , users were invited to complete a 26-item online survey. We used a validated questionnaire for evaluation of the website. Data acquisition was performed in an anonymised manner.
Results: We received n = 200 complete responses from February through September 2015. Respondents' median age was 57 years (range 17-89 years); 79 % were male. Users rated relevance and comprehensibility of information as very good and superior compared to layout and structure of the website. Of the users 73 % were affected themselves, but only half of them reported to have consulted a urologist. At the time of the survey, 54 % of the respondents had to make a health-related decision. The website helped 54 % of these respondents in their decision-making and 20 % reported to have changed their mind due to the information obtained. The three most frequently requested urological topics were circumcision/phimosis (33 %), prostatic enlargement (19 %), and erectile dysfunction (18 %).
Conclusions: Currently the Urologenportal as the joint information platform hosted by German urologists is perceived as a comprehensible source of relevant information. The ongoing relaunch should focus particularly on the website's structure and layout.
Keywords: Decision making; Health services research; Internet presence; Questionnaires; Websites.