It's good to talk: comparison of a telephone helpline and website for cancer information.

The Internet plays an important role in the information gathering process for people affected by cancer. This paper presents the results of a study comparing two sources of cancer information; a website and a telephone helpline. Data were captured on the use of one section of the UK charity CancerBACUP's website, and systematically compared to data collected from every fifth user of the charity's helpline. Subjects of enquiry for 994 telephone enquiries and 3096 web enquiries were comparable. The majority of enquiries to both services were about women and/or patients aged 50 or older. Website users were more likely than helpline users to request factual information and less likely to request information on sensitive topics. This study provides valuable information about the types of health information people seek from different sources and how the sources may complement each other