Using the alzheimer's association web site to improve knowledge of alzheimer's disease in health care providers

Background: The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether an informative Web site is effective at producing higher scores for an individuals knowledge of Alzheimers disease (AD) relative to those who do not visit a Web site. Methods: A total of 552 participants completed the study on Amazons Mechanical Turk; half were randomly assigned to visit alz.org, while a control group did not. Both groups were given the AD Knowledge Scale (ADKS) to assess their knowledge of AD. Results: Participants who visited alz.org scored significantly higher on the ADKS than those in the control group. Participants who were health care workers demonstrated higher scores than others in the experimental condition. Findings indicate that the Alzheimers Association Web site is effective at producing higher scores for AD knowledge relative to no Web site at all and that it is especially helpful for health care workers compared to those who are not health care workers.