BackgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS) patients and their family members increasingly seek health information on the Internet. There has been little exploration of how MS patients integrate health information with their needs, preferences, and values for decision making. The INtegrating and Deriving Evidence, Experiences, and Preferences (IN-DEEP) project is a collaboration between Italian and Australian researchers and MS patients, aimed to make high-quality evidence accessible and meaningful to MS patients and families, developing a Web-based resource of evidence-based information starting from their information needs.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to analyze MS patients and their family members’ experience about the Web-based health information, to evaluate how they asses this information, and how they integrate health information with personal values.MethodsWe organized 6 focus groups, 3 with MS patients and 3 with family members, in the Northern, Central, and Southern parts of Italy (April-June 2011). They included 40 MS patients aged between 18 and 60, diagnosed as having MS at least 3 months earlier, and 20 family members aged 18 and over, being relatives of a person with at least a 3-months MS diagnosis. The focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim (Atlas software, V 6.0). Data were analyzed from a conceptual point of view through a coding system. An online forum was hosted by the Italian MS society on its Web platform to widen the collection of information. Nine questions were posted covering searching behavior, use of Web-based information, truthfulness of Web information. At the end, posts were downloaded and transcribed.ResultsInformation needs covered a comprehensive communication of diagnosis, prognosis, and adverse events of treatments, MS causes or risk factors, new drugs, practical, and lifestyle-related information. The Internet is considered useful by MS patients, however, at the beginning or in a later stage of the disease a refusal to actively search for information could occur. Participants used to search on the Web before or after their neurologist’s visit or when a new therapy was proposed. Social networks are widely used to read others’ stories and retrieve information about daily management. A critical issue was the difficulty of recognizing reliable information on the Web. Many sources were used but the neurologist was mostly the final source of treatment decisions.ConclusionsMS patients used the Internet as a tool to integrate information about the illness. Information needs covered a wide spectrum, the searched topics changed with progression of the disease. Criteria for evaluating Internet accuracy and credibility of information were often lacking or generic. This may limit the empowerment of patients in health care choices.

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BackgroundPeople with multiple sclerosis (MS) are increasingly using the Internet in the daily management of their condition. They search for high-quality information in plain language, from independent sources, based on reliable and up-to-date evidence. The Integrating and Deriving Evidence, Experiences and Preferences (IN-DEEP) project in Italy and Australia aimed to provide people with MS and family members with an online source of evidence-based information, starting from their information needs. This paper reports on the Italian project’s website.MethodsContents, layout and wording were developed with people with MS and pilot-tested. The website was evaluated using an online 29-item questionnaire for ease of language, contents, navigation, and usefulness of information aimed at people with MS, family members and the general population.ResultsThe website (http://indeep.istituto-besta.it/) is structured in multiple levels of information. The first topic was interferons-β for people with relapsing-remitting MS. In all, 433 people responded to the survey (276 people with MS, 68 family members and 89 others). The mean age was 45 years, almost 90 % had a high school diploma, about 80 % had relapsing-remitting MS, and the median disease duration was seven years. About 90 % judged the website clear, understandable, useful, and easy to navigate. Ninety percent of people with MS and family members would recommend it to others. Sixty-two percent reported they felt confident in making decisions on interferons-β after reading the website.ConclusionsThe model was judged clear and useful. It could be adapted to other topics and diseases. Clinicians may find it useful in their relationship with patients.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12883-016-0552-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.