Table 1.
Characteristics of the sample of participants in the telephone interviews.
| Characteristics |
Physicians (n = 17) |
Assistants (n = 27) |
Patients (n = 280) |
| Female; n (%) | 3 (18) | 27 (100) | 174 (62) |
| Age; mean (± SD) | 50 (± 8) | 33 (± 12) | 62 (± 13) |
|
Years in (this particular) practice; mean (± SD) |
13 (± 9) | 7 (± 6) | 13 (± 10) |
| Computer literacy; n (%) | |||
| - skilled user | 15 (88) | 24 (89) | 64 (23) |
| - some familiarity | 2 (12) | 3 (11) | 45 (16) |
| - novice | - | - | 35 (13) |
| - none | - | - | 134 (48) |
| Duration of patients' disease (years); mean (± SD) | - | - | 14 (± 13) |
| Severity of patients'disease; n (%) | - | - | |
| - minor | - | - | 75 (27) |
| - intermediate | - | - | 107 (38) |
| - serious | - | - | 83 (30) |
| - no information/I don't know | - | - | 15 (5) |