The DIPEx project: A systematic collection of personal illness experiences

We describe a large systematic collection of personal experiences of ilnesses and other health problems based on qualitative video- and audiointerviews with people in their homes. These are analysed and summarised on the website www.dipex.org, which is freely accessible to everyone. They are intended to help new patients and their families to understand the condition and what it may involve, and to help them in making important decisions together with their doctors and other professionals. The site is also valuable in teaching students and trainees in the health professions, by showing them how widely people differ in their experiences of illness and how they cope with problems. Students can learn directly how important it is to listen to patients in order to understand them and help them. © Hippocampus Verlag 2008.