[Access to own health information and services on the Internet by disability pensioners and other citizens].

OBJECTIVE: To study Icelandic citizens' perception, attitude and preferences regarding access to own health information and interactive services at the State Social Security Institute of Iceland (SSSI). Hypotheses regarding differences between disability pensioners and other citizens were put forward.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A descriptive mail survey was performed with a random sample from the Icelandic population, 1400 individuals, age 16 to 67, divided into two groups of 700 each: (1) persons entitled to disability pension (2) other citizens in Iceland. The questionnaire consisted of 56 questions, descriptive statistics were used and Chi square for comparison with 95% as confidence level of significance. Response rate was 34.9%.

RESULTS: Perception of rights to access own's health information was significantly higher by pensioners than other citizens. Attitude concerning impact of access was in general positive, with pensioners significantly more positive about effectiveness, perception of health, communication and decisions owing to services, access at SSSI, maintaining health records and controlling access.

CONCLUSIONS: The study, the first of its kind in Iceland, supports previous research. The results, as well as foreign models of research projects, are recommended to be used for evolution of electronic health services and researching employees' viewpoints. Future research in Iceland should address the impact of interactive health communication on quality of life, health and services' efficiency.