People hate Mondays, with three times more than the daily average checking health information at the beginning of the week.

The assertion comes from early monitoring by a new NHS digital interactive television (iTV) service.

The six-month pilot NHS Direct Digital was developed by Brighton-based iTV agency Communicopia and launched on two digital platforms, Hull-based Kingston Interactive Television (KIT) in November and VideoNetworks' HomeChoice, based in London, in January.

Traffic figure research from the KIT service revealed 25,000 hits during a fortnight.

Of these, almost 8,000 were on Mondays between 3pm and 5pm, making it the most popular day to access the service with 32 per cent of total hits compared to an average of 11 per cent for other days of the week.

Almost 1,500 visitors signed up to the KIT service and 75 per cent accessed 11 or more pages at any one time.

The pilot schemes covered 25,000 households, 10,000 in Hull and 15,000 in London.

They provided digital television viewers with information about common illnesses and conditions, as well as lifestyle and health issues.

The VideoNetworks pilot was also the first where the content was 100 per cent video-based and available on demand.

The top five most viewed videos per household were on healthy eating, adult and child resuscitation, diabetes and local blood donor sessions.

The pilots use advanced technology to provide a range of interactive and on-demand services, including the ability to register interest in donating blood.

A video feature follows Robert going through the process of donating blood for the first time, showing it to be straightforward and painless.

Viewers can then press a button on their TV remote control and their address is automatically pulled out of the subscriber database and emailed to the National Blood Service (NBS).

The NBS will send an information pack about local blood donor services.

David Maden, project director at Communicopia, said: "Television is an ideal information medium, conveying more than text alone in a way that is engaging and entertaining for the viewer."

Feedback from KIT users, researched by independent consultancy Serco, showed the service had especially benefited housebound and elderly viewers and parents.

The videos were seen as educational and realistic and in many cases exceeded user expectations.

One person surveyed said: "You wouldn't pick the telephone up to ask about a condition on a relative's behalf but you would look on there."

Another said: "It's accessible - you've got it there right in front of you."

Peter Dick, project manager for the digital TV initiative at the Department of Health, said: "Extending NHS Direct on to interactive TV is an interesting progression of the service. We will continue to assess and evaluate this and the other digital television pilots before deciding on the best way forward."

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
www.communicopia.co.uk
www.kitv.co.uk
www.videonetworks.com