P156 HYPERTENSIVES USERS OF A HEALTH WEB PORTAL

Background and objective: In Canada, approximately 1 in 4 adults live with high blood pressure. These people, concerned about their health, often turn to health information Web portals. To meet this need for information, Quebec Society of Vascular Sciences (QSVS) du Québec has created a web portal (www.yourvascularhealth.ca). However, limited data is available to describe the characteristics and motivations of hypertensive users of these websites. Method In this multicenter study, participants had to be ≥18 years old, hypertensive and able to use digital tools. They were approached by collaborating physicians (n=30) during routine consultations. An anonymous, validated electronic questionnaire assessed socio-demographic variables, digital competence, and motivations for using a health website. Adapted Technology Acceptance Model III was used as a framework. Results: Forty-three participants were recruited mean age of 70.3 ± 10.5 years, 67% male, 33% had achieved a university level of education. For health behaviors, less than 30% attained the 150 weekly minutes of exercise promoted in Canada while a less than half (44%) say that they eat according to DASH guidelines. The vast majority don’t smoke (67%) and drink less than once a month (86%). Preliminary analysis show that most participants (84%) use search engine. When questioned (on a Likert scale 1 to 7) about the portal, they perceived it was useful (6.0 ± 1.1), easy to use (5.4 ± 1.2) and expressed the intention of using the portal again (5.7 ± 1.5). When motivation was assessed; autonomous motivation was highest (5.83 ± 0.99) followed by amotivation (3.83 ± 1.35) and controlled motivation (3.13 ± 1.39). Conclusion: Patients with hypertension are consulting websites to obtain more information and this even later in life. It is our responsibility to provide websites that are designed for this population and scientifically based. This study will contribute to a better characterization of health website users and may guide the development and dissemination of health websites.