TGA stakeholder survey 2016
TGA information website
Website use
Nine in ten respondents in the survey used the TGA website. Most commonly this use was infrequent, occurring either less than once a month (35%) or about once a month (19%; Table 27 and Figure 33). Around one in four respondents visit the site on a regular basis (weekly or more often). The pattern here highlights the various levels of familiarity that TGA stakeholders will have with the site, highlighting the importance of ensuring the site is logical, navigable and user friendly, especially for the large groups who are unlikely to have the familiarity that develops with frequent use.
Table 27: TGA website - Frequency of use
| Frequency | % |
|---|---|
| Never | 8% |
| Less than once a month | 35% |
| About once a month | 19% |
| Two or three times a month | 10% |
| About once a week | 9% |
| More than once a week | 18% |
| Not sure | 2% |
n= 2424
Figure 33: TGA website - Frequency of use
Overall (ever) use of the website was similar across all groupings in the survey (Table 28). Regular use was highest amongst those in the medical products industry and community groupings, with retailers and academics using the site less frequently.
Table 28: TGA website - Frequency of use by stakeholder category
| Category | Never | Less than once a month | About once a month | Two or three times a month | About once a week | More than once a week | Not sure | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Professional | 9% | 37% | 21% | 9% | 6% | 15% | 2% | 446 |
| Medical Products Industry | 6% | 32% | 18% | 11% | 10% | 22% | 1% | 1621 |
| Community | 8% | 35% | 22% | 8% | 5% | 22% | 2% | 65 |
| Retailer | 11% | 50% | 19% | 8% | 4% | 6% | 3% | 169 |
| Government | 5% | 28% | 33% | 12% | 9% | 9% | 4% | 57 |
| Academic | 10% | 50% | 21% | 10% | 2% | 7% | 0% | 145 |
| Media | 0% | 14% | 14% | 29% | 14% | 14% | 14% | 7 |
| Other | 12% | 32% | 21% | 9% | 8% | 15% | 2% | 403 |
In the medical products industry, the most frequent use was strongly moderated by the size of the organisation (as indicated by the number of employees; Figure 34). Use weekly or more often was highest amongst those with employees, 100-599 (53%), 600-999 (53%) and 1,000-1,499 (63%) employees.
Figure 34: TGA information website - Frequent use (Weekly or more) by employee numbers (Medical products industry)
In each of the major stakeholder groupings, there was some variation in the frequency of website use amongst particular groups (Table 29). Notably, one in four or more of pharmacists, medical practitioners, carers and consumers all accessed the site weekly or more often.
Table 29: TGA website - Frequency of use by Industry, Community and Health professional categories
| Category | Website use - Weekly or more often |
|---|---|
| Medical products industry | |
| Product sponsor | 20% |
| Product manufacturer | 21% |
| Regulatory affairs consultant | 19% |
| Industry association representative | 21% |
| Other | 31% |
| Community | |
| Consumer | 25% |
| Consumer health representative or advocate | 21% |
| Patient | 19% |
| Carer | 25% |
| Other | 20% |
| Health professional | |
| Complementary healthcare practitioner | 18% |
| Dental practitioner | 13% |
| Medical practitioner | 25% |
| Nurse | 17% |
| Pharmacist | 34% |
| Other | 26% |
Participants highlighted a range of reasons for use of the website (Table 30). The most common reasons included to seek guidance documents, access databases and seek fees and charges information, however it is notable that the range of reasons presented to users of the site all featured as common activities for which the website is used. The breadth of this use is a positive indicator of the ability of users to seek and identify a range of uses and information sources on the site.
Table 30: TGA website - reasons for use
| Reason | n |
|---|---|
| Guidance documents | 1624 |
| Accessing TGA databases | 1385 |
| Fees and charges information | 1238 |
| General information about the TGA | 898 |
| Regulatory decisions and notices | 886 |
| Accessing information about the scheduling of medicines and poisons | 715 |
| Importing or exporting products information | 696 |
| News and publications | 676 |
| Education materials | 590 |
| TGA training, workshops or presentations information | 590 |
| Safety information | 481 |
| Accessing information for health professionals | 434 |
| Product recalls | 383 |
| Consultations - access or participate | 362 |
| Report problems or adverse events | 346 |
| Provide feedback to the TGA | 146 |
| Other, please specify | 70 |
Average = 5.3 selections per user
Website satisfaction
Satisfaction with the website was strong, with 69% either satisfied or very satisfied and a minimal 7% of people showing any level of dissatisfaction (Table 31).
Table 31: TGA website - Overall satisfaction
| Statement | Nett Dissatisfied | Very dissatisfied | Dissatisfied | Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | Satisfied | Very satisfied | Nett Satisfied | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website satisfaction | 7% | 1% | 6% | 24% | 62% | 7% | 69% | 2165 |
Among broad stakeholder categories, nett satisfaction varied from 72% amongst those in the medical products industry down to 60% for government stakeholders (Table 32). Dissatisfaction was also very low amongst the medical products industry. This key group is the largest sub group in the survey, with the positive outcomes here highlighting that the website is generally meeting the needs of this core target. Dissatisfaction with the website was highest amongst government (14%), community (12%) and academic stakeholders (12%).
Table 32: TGA website - Overall satisfaction by stakeholder category
| Category | Nett Dissatisfied | Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | Nett Satisfied | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Professional | 10% | 24% | 66% | 393 |
| Medical Products Industry | 7% | 22% | 72% | 1488 |
| Community member, consumer or community representative | 12% | 20% | 68% | 59 |
| Retailer | 10% | 26% | 64% | 145 |
| Government | 14% | 27% | 60% | 52 |
| Academic | 12% | 18% | 70% | 131 |
| Media | 0% | 33% | 67% | 6 |
| Other | 9% | 27% | 64% | 344 |
Further breakdowns in industry, community and health professional groups are shown in the table 33. Key points in this table include the consistently high satisfaction across the medical products industry, relatively high satisfaction amongst consumer health representatives or advocates and the low satisfaction and high dissatisfaction among dental practitioners (although given the small sample size of n=15, this result should be treated with caution).
Table 33: TGA website - Overall satisfaction by Industry, Community and Health professional categories
| Category | Nett Dissatisfied | Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | Nett Satisfied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical products industry | |||
| Product sponsor | 7% | 21% | 72% |
| Product manufacturer | 6% | 21% | 73% |
| Regulatory affairs consultant | 7% | 19% | 75% |
| Industry association representative | 9% | 17% | 74% |
| Other | 9% | 30% | 60% |
| Community | |||
| Consumer | 10% | 24% | 66% |
| Consumer health representative or advocate | 7% | 22% | 72% |
| Patient | 12% | 20% | 68% |
| Carer | 10% | 26% | 64% |
| Other | 14% | 27% | 60% |
| Health professional | |||
| Complementary healthcare practitioner | 9% | 18% | 74% |
| Dental practitioner | 20% | 33% | 47% |
| Medical practitioner | 7% | 31% | 62% |
| Nurse | 11% | 20% | 69% |
| Pharmacist | 12% | 17% | 71% |
| Other | 10% | 29% | 61% |
Feedback on the TGA website also highlighted the importance of the website to a broad range of users.