Patterns of E-mail requests by users of an Internet-based aging-services information system

Many government agencies and pion-profit organizations have begun to publis h elder care information art the World Wide Web. Most of this information i s intended as static reading material, however; web sites also have the cap ability to serve as a conduit for the public to contact the agency whose si te is being visited. The objective of this investigation was to describe e- mail contact made by the public through one such site, the Michigan Aging S ervices System (http://mass.iog.wayne.edu), for the purposes of requesting services and/or information on behalf of an elder.