E-Health: An Exploratory Study of Trust Building Elements in Behavioral Health Web Sites

Abstract

This paper focuses on the use of Internet to support provider-client
relationship in a specific field of healthcare – that of behavioral health. It
reports the findings of an exploratory study that addressed consumer trust
in e-health web sites. The study was conducted in two phases. First, it
evaluated the extent to which online counseling/therapy web sites are
currently employing trust building measures such as third party seals and
the variety of communication channels. Second, it identified factors that
influence consumers’ perceptions about e-health web sites through a
qualitative survey of potential users and mental health professionals.