Communicating health promotion and disease prevention information to patients via email: a review

Abstract

Email could be used in primary health-care settings for delivering health promotion and disease prevention information, providing an alternative method of delivery for brief interventions. We examined the literature on the use of email for this purpose. Systematic review methodology was used. The main medical databases were searched and there were no restrictions by study design, health-care setting or population. The search identified ten relevant articles, only one of which was a randomised controlled trial. Many articles discussed the potential use of email for health promotion and disease prevention but did not provide evidence. There is much scope for further research in this area.