Perception and Behaviour towards Hospital Website among
Indonesian
Badra Al Aufa
1
1
Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia, Depok Indonesia
Keywords: Hospital Website, Patient Perception, Website Usage, Indonesia
Abstract: Hospital website plays a pivotal role in engaging patients. Research on the behavior of patients in using
hospital website is still less published in Indonesia. This study aimed to describe Indonesian perception and
behaviour towards hospital website—this quantitative research using the cross-sectional method. The data
has been collected during February – March 2019 that recruited 160 respondents using a consecutive
sampling method. An online questionnaire has been used for data collection. Data of the research were
analyzed by using SPSS Version 21. Most of the respondents were 27 years old (12.5%) with a mean of age
31 years old. 71.9% of respondents visited the hospital' website to see the available facility and the
schedule, while 70.6% of respondents see the doctor' plan. 74.4% of respondents stated that information on
the hospital website was available but not complete while another problem was website information was not
up to date. In the role of the site in assisting the respondent in choosing a hospital, 79.3% of respondents
stated that the hospital' website assisted them in selecting a hospital. Hospital manager should arrange
adequate resources to provide and maintain hospital' website to ensure up to date, complete and accurate
information on the site so that could assist patients in using the hospital service.
1 INTRODUCTION
As the result of developing of the private sector as
well as the expansion of government to build a new
hospital, the hospital numbers in Indonesia is rising
during the last decade (WHO Regional Office for
South-East Asia, 2017). Quality improvement was
needed to be performed by a hospital to sustain in
the very extreme competitive environment (Speziale,
2015). Moreover, Information Technology (IT)
plays a significant role in improving healthcare
quality (Baker, 2001; Ortiz and Clancy, 2003).
In this decade, the consumer uses the internet for
grasping health information is growing (Grandinetti,
2000). That condition is exceptionally durable for
teens and young adults, as these demographics show
the highest rate of internet usage both in general and
specifically for health information (Atkinson,
Saperstein and Pleis, 2009). Therefore, the Hospital
managers should consider internet use in their
hospital operation, specifically for marketing
purpose.
Research in the United States stated that hospital
website has a benefit to explore customer feedback
and opinion, build effective communication
channels for customers, create creative promotion
and communication for customers' need and
personalize service encounters (Lin et al., 2001).
Using a website is one of the ways to use the internet
as a medium to promote the hospital so that the
hospital can expand the market leverage (Radu et
al., 2017). Patient engagement that made during the
initial contact may be developed by visiting the
social media and web presence of the hospital
(Sanchez, 2000)—failing to make a first positive
impression through the hospital' website and social
media results in consumer to explore other
alternatives (Huerta et al., 2014). Therefore, a
hospital website plays a pivotal role in hospital
marketing.
Although the importance of hospital website and
social media is acknowledged, several kinds of
research showed that hospital' social media and
website performance were still underperformance.
An evaluation of 157 children's hospital website in
the United States revealed that there are no website
dimensions (accessibility, content, marketing,
technology, usability) that met a perfect score
(Huerta et al., 2014). Meanwhile, one research
performed in Indonesia stated that content and ease
64
Al Aufa, B.
Perception and Behaviour towards Hospital Website among Indonesian.
DOI: 10.5220/0010030400002967
In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of Vocational Higher Education (ICVHE 2019) - Empowering Human Capital Towards Sustainable 4.0 Industry, pages 64-68
ISBN: 978-989-758-530-2; ISSN: 2184-9870
Copyright
c
 2021 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

of use degree of the hospital website were
significantly associated with the satisfaction of the
patient (Novan, Nugroho and Hidayah, 2015).
Another research in Kediri, Indonesia revealed that
usability of the hospital' website for its functioning
as online registration is affected positively by
learnability, memorability, errors and user's
satisfaction (Khoirina, Fithrotu; Herdiyanti, Anisah
Herdiyanti; Sustanto, 2017).
Despite some researches have been performed in
Indonesia to evaluate the use of the hospital' website
using information system usability approach, yet,
research of hospital' website as marketing media
remains less. This research is aimed to analyze the
behaviour and expectation of Indonesian women in
using hospital' website. By performing this research,
it is expected to gain the insight regarding the
information that needed and should be existed in the
hospital' website which in turn could provide
additional evidence for hospital manager and experts
in building hospital website.
2 METHODS
This quantitative research using the cross-sectional
method. The population of this research is women
aged 20-64 years old. The age range was chosen
based on the assumption that these group ages is still
using and actively using the hospital website as the
source in seeking hospital service information. This
research was conducted using an online
questionnaire. The number of respondents who
participated in this study was 160 respondents. The
samples were chosen using a quota sampling
technique.
Before data collection, respondents have been
explained the research aim and the procedure to fill
the questionnaire. The women who agreed to
participate in the study signed consent form.
Anonymity and confidentiality of respondents had
been ensured. The survey consisted of three parts.
First part is to know the respondent characteristics
(age, level of education, working status, marriage
status, number of children, economic status). The
second part was designed to explore the behaviour
of women in using hospital' website, such as time
visiting the site, what information that been looked
for by the respondent. The third part is the
perception of women in using the hospital website.
The third part of the questionnaire explores whether
the website condition has met their expectations or
not. Also, the common problems that they
encountered when accessing the hospital website
were studied in this section. Data of the research
were analyzed by using SPSS Version 21 (Armonk,
NY: IBM Corp). Descriptive statistics were used to
describe the demographic status, perception and
behaviour in using hospital' website.
3 RESULTS
The number of respondents is 160 people. The
majority of respondents came from the age group
26-45 years 112 (70.0%) with female sex 110
(68.8%). More than a third of respondents had an
education level of S1 / S2 / S3 143 (89.4%). The
majority of respondents work at a private company
(50%) and earn more than 10 million per month.
One hundred five respondents were married, and the
majority of respondents had 1-2 children 72 (45%)
(Table 1).
The behaviour of visiting the hospital website
before visiting the hospital is presented in Table 1.
The majority of respondents claimed to do this
sometimes (43.8%), and 28 respondents said they
often visited the hospital website before they visited
the hospital. In term of the age group, it is known
that the group that most often visited the hospital
website before they visited the hospital came from
the age group 26-45 years (11.9%). In terms of
income, groups that often and always visit hospital
websites are dominated by groups with a profit of
more than 10 million rupiahs (8.1% and 9.4%).
Table 1: Visiting website behaviour based on respondent's
socio-demographic characteristics
Alwa
y
sFre
q
uentl
y
Occasionall
y
Never
Total 21 (13.1) 28 (17.5) 70 (43.8) 41 (25.6)
A
g
e,
y
ears
≤ 25 0 (0.0) 1 (0.6) 4 (2.5) 3 (1.9)
26
–
45 16
(
10.0
)
19
(
11.9
)
53
(
33.1
)
24
(
15.0
)
≥ 46 5 (3.1) 8 (5.0) 13 (8.1) 14 (8.8)
Sex
Female 14 (8.8) 22 (13.8) 47 (29.4) 27 (16.9)
Male 7
(
4.4
)
6
(
3.8
)
23
(
14.4
)
14
(
8.8
)
Education
Hi
g
h school 0
(
0.0
)
4
(
2.5
)
5
(
3.1
)
8
(
5.0
)
University 21 (13.1) 24 (15.0) 65 (40.6) 33 (20.6)
Occu
p
ation
Private
em
p
lo
y
ee
15 (9.4) 11 (6.9) 35 (21.9) 19 (11.9)
Civil servant 2
(
1.3
)
4
(
2.5
)
14
(
8.8
)
4
(
2.5
)
Entre
p
reneu
r
0
(
0.0
)
5
(
3.1
)
4
(
2.5
)
7
(
4.4
)
Student 0
(
0.0
)
3
(
1.9
)
7
(
4.4
)
8
(
5.0
)
Housewife 1 (0.6) 3 (1.9) 9 (5.6) 3 (1.9)
Not workin
g
3
(
1.9
)
2
(
1.3
)
1
(
0.6
)
0
(
0.0
)
Income (Rupiah)
< 5 million 3
(
1.9
)
3
(
1.9
)
24
(
15.0
)
12
(
7.5
)
5
–
10 million 5 (3.1) 10 (6.3) 23 (14.4) 8 (5.0)
> 10 million 13
(
8.1
)
15
(
9.4
)
23
(
14.4
)
21
(
13.1
)
Marital status
Sin
g
le 8
(
5.0
)
9
(
5.6
)
19
(
11.9
)
18
(
11.3
)
Perception and Behaviour towards Hospital Website among Indonesian
65

Marrie
d
13
(
8.1
)
19
(
11.9
)
50
(
31.3
)
23
(
14.4
)
Divorce 0
(
0.0
)
0
(
0.0
)
1
(
1.4
)
0
(
0.0
)
Number of children
0 chil
d
10
(
6.3
)
13
(
8.1
)
24
(
15.0
)
18
(
11.3
)
1
–
2 children 10 (6.3) 11 (6.9) 36 (22.5) 9.4)
≥ 3 children 1
(
0.6
)
4
(
2.5
)
10
(
6.3
)
8
(
5.0
)
Table 2 shows the respondents' perceptions of
the hospital website. The majority of respondents
answered that the existence of the hospital website
helped respondents in choosing hospitals (n = 127,
79.4%). In terms of providing information about
hospital services, more than a third of respondents
agreed that the hospital website helped in providing
information about services in the hospital. Only 5
(3.1%) respondents stated that the ownership of a
website by a hospital was of little importance.
Seventy-five respondents (46.9%) respondents will
choose hospitals that have useful websites than those
who do not have a website.
Table 2: Respondent perceptions of hospital website usage
n%
Hos
p
ital website hel
p
s in choosin
g
a hos
p
ital
Ver
y
hel
p
ful 65 40,6
Hel
p
ful 62 38,8
Unhel
p
ful 33 20,6
Hospital website can provide info about hospital
services
Ver
y
hel
p
ful 56 35,0
Hel
p
ful 84 52,5
Unhel
p
ful 20 12,5
Hos
p
ital website can
p
rovide health information
Ver
y
hel
p
ful 33 20,6
Hel
p
ful 70 43,8
Unhel
p
ful 57 35,6
Hospital website can help patients make
reservations
Ver
y
hel
p
ful 43 26,9
Hel
p
ful 69 43,1
Unhel
p
ful 48 30,0
Hos
p
ital Website Ownershi
p
Ver
y
im
p
ortant 110 68,8
Im
p
ortant 45 28,1
Unim
p
ortant 5 3,1
Choosin
g
a hos
p
ital with a
p
ro
p
er website
Yes 75 46,9
Ma
y
be 78 48,8
No 7 4,4
More than 70% of respondents visit the website
to see the services available (115 respondents) and
see the doctor's schedule (113 respondents). Only 25
(15.6%) respondents answered that their purpose
was to visit the hospital's website to view
information about health. The top three content that
is considered essential to be displayed on the
hospital's website according to respondents is the
content of the doctor's schedule (140 respondents),
service schedule (129 respondents), available
services (125 respondents) and price of services (125
respondents) (Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 3 shows the problems encountered by
respondents when visiting the hospital website. The
results of the study also showed that the majority of
informants answered that they found the hospital
website had constraints, the information was
incomplete, the information was not up to date, info
was not available. In addition to the lack of available
information problems, another problem is a less
attractive design, slow and confusing websites.
Figure 1: Respondents' purpose for vising hospital website
Figure 2: Information needed in the hospital website
ICVHE 2019 - The International Conference of Vocational Higher Education (ICVHE) “Empowering Human Capital Towards Sustainable
4.0 Industry”
66

Figure 3: Troubles encountered when vising hospital
website
4 DISCUSSIONS
The results showed that the majority of respondents
had visited the hospital website before they visited
the hospital. The results of this study are confirmed
by other studies conducted in China which state that
the ease of use of the site and the usefulness of the
website are strictly related to the selection of
hospitals and recommend hospitals that have
websites with these criteria to others (Ford et al.,
2013; Wang, 2017). The ease of use of the website is
something that needs to be considered considering
this is one of the factors that support the use of
hospital websites (Cudmore, Bobrowski and
Kiguradze, 2011).
In this study also found that the hospital website
is also considered to help respondents in choosing a
hospital because it can provide various information
such as services available to health information. The
results of the study are in line with a survey
conducted in Indonesia that 51.06% of the
Indonesian people use the internet to find out health
information and 14.05% of the public use the
internet to consult with health experts (Asosiasi
Penyelenggara Jasa Internet Indonesia, 2018).
Various obstacles were still found by
respondents when they visited the hospital website,
such as information that was not up to date or not
available as well as a confusing website. Other
studies conducted at hospitals in the city of Jember
also found that there were still various obstacles
such as incomplete information on poly/doctor
service schedules, service rates (Farlinda et al.,
2015).
This research does not focus on one particular
city so that it cannot describe the specific
characteristics in every city in Indonesia in
describing the use of hospital websites. Research
related to the use of hospital websites is needed in
several cities, so there are variations in the use of
hospital websites in various cities in Indonesia.
Besides, further research is required to be related to
the existence of hospital websites with patient
satisfaction.
5 CONCLUSIONS
This study revealed that the existence of a good
website was one of the considerations for
respondents in selecting a hospital. The results of the
survey showed various information needed on the
hospital website according to the respondent, such as
doctor's schedule, service schedule, available
services and other relevant information. Besides, the
hospital website also needs to be developed so that
the information contained in was not only complete
but also up to date, interesting and easy to use.
REFERENCES
Asosiasi Penyelenggara Jasa Internet Indonesia (2018)
Infografis Penetrasi dan Perilaku Pengguna Internet
Indonesia Survey 2017, Apjii. APJII. Available at:
https://apjii.or.id/content/read/39/410/Hasil-Survei-
Penetrasi-dan-Perilaku-Pengguna-Internet-Indonesia-
2018.
Atkinson, N. L., Saperstein, S. L. and Pleis, J. (2009)
'Using the internet for health-related activities:
Findings from a national probability sample', Journal
of Medical Internet Research. DOI:
10.2196/jmir.1035.
Baker, A. (2001)' Book: Crossing the Quality Chasm: A
New Health System for the 21st Century', BMJ. DOI:
10.1136/bmj.323.7322.1192.
Cudmore, B. A., Bobrowski, P. E. and Kiguradze, T.
(2011) 'Encouraging consumer searching behaviour on
healthcare web sites', Journal of Consumer Marketing.
DOI: 10.1108/07363761111143187.
Farlinda, S. et al. (2015) ‘Pengembangan Website Rumah
Sakit Paru Jember Sebagai Media Promosi Pelayanan
Kesehatan Masyarakat’, Prosiding Semnaskit, pp.
225–230.
Ford, E. W. et al. (2013) 'Patient Satisfaction Scores and
Their Relationship to Hospital Website Quality
Perception and Behaviour towards Hospital Website among Indonesian
67

Measures', Health Marketing Quarterly. DOI:
10.1080/07359683.2013.844041.
Grandinetti, D. A. (2000) 'Doctors and the Web. Help your
patients surf the Net safely.', Medical economics.
Huerta, T. R. et al. (2014) 'Hospital website rankings in
the united states: Expanding benchmarks and
standards for effective consumer engagement', Journal
of Medical Internet Research. DOI:
10.2196/jmir.3054.
Khoirina, Fithrotu; Herdiyanti, Anisah Herdiyanti;
Sustanto, T. D. (2017) ‘Evaluasi Kebergunaan
(Usability) pada Aplikasi Daftar Online Rumah Sakit
Umum Daerah Gambiran Kediri’, 06(03), pp. 331–
346.
Lin, B. et al. (2001) 'The Internet and Hospital Marketing
Strategy', Health Marketing Quarterly. DOI:
10.1300/J026v18n03_04.
Novan, C., Nugroho, E. and Hidayah, I. (2015) ‘Evaluasi
Implementasi Sistem Informasi Berbasis Web’, pp. 6–
8.
Ortiz, E. and Clancy, C. M. (2003) 'Use of Information
Technology to Improve the Quality of Health Care in
the United States', Health Services Research. DOI:
10.1111/1475-6773.00127.
Radu, G. et al. (2017) 'The adaptation of health care
marketing to the digital era', Journal of Medicine and
Life.
Sanchez, P. M. (2000) 'The Potential of Hospital Website
Marketing', Health Marketing Quarterly. Doi:
10.1300/J026v18n01_04.
Speziale, G. (2015) 'Strategic management of a healthcare
organization: Engagement, behavioural indicators, and
clinical performance', European Heart Journal,
Supplement. DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/suv003.
Wang, S. H. (2017) 'Web-based medical service:
Technology attractiveness, medical creditability,
information source, and behaviour intention', Journal
of Medical Internet Research. DOI:
10.2196/jmir.8114.
WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia (2017) The
Republic of Indonesia Health System Review, World
Health Organization. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2015.01.001.
ICVHE 2019 - The International Conference of Vocational Higher Education (ICVHE) “Empowering Human Capital Towards Sustainable
4.0 Industry”
68