LAUNCHING A PALLIATIVE CARE HOMEPAGE - THE EDMONTON EXPERIENCE

The Internet, with its graphical subdivision, the World Wide Web (WWW) , has become a powerful tool for the dissemination of information and for communication. This paper discusses the authors' experiences with creating, launching and maintaining an official publication on the Int ernet by the Edmonton Regional Palliative Care Program and the Divisio n of Palliative Medicine, University of Alberta, Canada. It describes the content and format of the homepage and the process of publication. Over a six-month period there were 892 visits to the site and 84 sepa rate items of correspondence to the site's editors. Of these correspon dence items, 36 were requesting further information regarding clinical and other programme information. Sixty-nine of the 84 communications came from North America and Europe. The pattern of readership is brief ly discussed as are some of the potential advantages and challenges wh en utilizing this electronic medium. To promote the dissemination of r eliable information on the Internet, the authors encourage other palli ative care groups and organizations to publish on the WWW. The URL is http://www.palliative.org (previously http://www.caritas.ab.ca/(sic)pa lliate).