Website assessment survey

Objective of survey
Over the past 6 months the BIG conversation  has been running a website assessment survey for the DH. This was to assess the progress made by the DH on the core criteria identified in the main research programme.
Satisfaction levels associated with different features and uses of the site were measured. The programme was intended to run for several years but due to changes in DH purchasing procedures this has not been possible. Presented below are the findings to date.

What the survey was about
Questions were included on the survey which reflected key success criteria for the website. These included general questions such as usage of the DH site, satisfaction with the site, comparison over time and with other work related sites as well as specific issues such as target audience, consistency, relevance, layout, organisation, accessibility, efficiency of the search engine, interaction with DH, content, links and speed of download.

Who took part?
Different audience groups have been well represented in the responses. There have been a good mix of doctors, nurses and other primary care professionals, patients, carers and relatives, NHS and social care service users, business users, allied health professionals, social care workers, academics/researchers and medical students, health service and social care management/administration, other NHS staff, local authority, journalists, members of the voluntary sector and even some overseas users.

What did we find?

Internet Use
Most people who responded used the Internet every day (not including email), showing the growing significance of online services in health and social care delivery. However, due to the on-line nature of the survey this will not be representative of the health and social care services in general.

DH Website Usage
Most of the users who responded visited the DH site once or several times a week for a wide range of uses from downloading electronic documents to news, to information or statistics on specific topics. The Publications and What s New areas of the site were used most but due to the wide range of respondents many areas of the site were visited frequently.

General Satisfaction
A substantial number of users in this research felt that the website was changing for the better. Most are becoming more satisfied with the site and thought it compared quite well to other work related sites, although there was still quite a high level of confusion regarding using the site and finding certain information. Our findings suggest that information is generally seen to be quite accurate and relevant to users  needs, it is finding it that is the problem and this requires further attention from the DH.

Identity of DH site
Around two thirds of users felt is was quite clear what the function and purpose of the site is. However there was still mixed opinion as to who it is aimed at. This shows that clearer signposting to relevant information for different target groups is still a crucial future need.

Organisation/Accessibility of the Site
There are still a few issues surrounding accessibility and users finding their way around the site. Clearer organisation, short cuts from the home page and signposting remain central issues. Over three quarters of users would like more information on how to get the most from the site.

More summaries of important documents are still a strong requirement so that users can make quick decisions on whether they are relevant to their needs.

A high proportion of users had experienced some problems downloading documents from the site in the last 6 months. This is an area requiring further attention.

The majority of users still did not find the search engine effective. This priority issue needs further attention. An effective search engine is seen as essential, especially in an information rich site like the DH.

Design Features
Most thought that there was the right balance between text and graphics on the site. More graphics would mean longer downloading times and this is a major consideration.

Consistency
An important issue in the last wave of research, around half felt the site was becoming more consistent in terms of content and design. Many were still not sure.

Links
Although most users involved in the research thought there were enough links within documents, many would like to see more links to other related sites from the DH site. Many would like the DH to be more proactive and guide them to where useful health information might be on the rest of the Internet, i.e. including more links to reputable sites.

If you took part in this research and would like to comment on the findings shown on the BIG conversation  please contact us. Or if you would like to communicate with others in the health field please visit the health conversation area.