OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to 1) develope web-based information program for the patients undergoing lumbar discectomy, and 2) test the effectiveness of web-based information program for improving patients knowledge level on lumbar discectomy.

METHODS: First, to improve the validity of contents of web-based program, the information needs were identified from 30 patients admitted for lumbar discectomy and experts' validation of preliminary contents of program was performed. Second, satisfaction level of the developed program was measured by 15 experts and 20 patients. Finally, the outcome of web-based program was compared by each of 20 lumbar discectomy patients allocated to experimental group (EG) and control group(CG) in term of knowledge level.

RESULTS: The web-based program was developed with 24 screens categorized 6 categories. Satisfaction scores on information relevance and information usefulness of experts were higher than those of patients. The EG's scores on knowledge level was significantly higher than those of CG.

CONCLUSIONS: We can conclude that web-based information program is more effective tool than the traditional education method to enhancing knowledge level. We suggest that various web-based programs for other patient groups expecting surgeries should be developed in order to satisfy the patients' needs more effectively.