Developments in medical technologies and procedures are associated with a rapid rise in the number of people surviving in prolonged disorders of consciousness (e.g. 'vegetative' and 'minimally conscious' states). However there has been relatively little research, and few resources, to help people to deal with the issues that arise when they have a loved one in such a condition. Our original research demonstrated the need for high-quality internet resources to support these families and to serve as a resource for relevant professionals. The proposed project builds on our original study of 30 people with a relative in a disordered state of consciousness who were interviewed about their experience of the care and treatment of their loved one (e.g. a partner, parent, offspring or sibling). Although the focus of this original research was 'decision making' these interviews (which lasted an average of 4-5 hours) form a rich data-base in which families talk about a wide variety of issues from the shock of the original injury and the process through which a diagnosis was reached over time, through to the long term issues facing families (emotional and practical) and the complex choices in which they may be involved (e.g. where their loved one should be cared for, how to manage their affairs, what specific medical treatments should be pursued or forgone). The original interview study was conducted using qualitative methods based on rigorous social science research methodology and all interviews were conducted by one or other of the senior researchers submitting this bid. These data will be combined with interviews with an additional 8 interviews (videoed where possible) and the entire corpus will be re-analysed for the purpose of writing 20-25 summaries on the issues that are most important to these families in order to produce a resource to be published on 'HealthTalkOnline' http://www.healthtalkonline.org/) - a widely used site (5 million hits /100,000 unique visitors per month) certified under the Department of Health's Information Standard scheme and winner of severalawards for the innovative form, accuracy and quality of the information it provides (e.g. British Medical Association Patient Information Awards, Health Care IT Effectiveness Awards and Social Innovation awards - see www.healthtalkonline.org/Overview/Awards_healthtalkonline). The development of the new HTO section of the website about disorders of consciousness will follow the good practice model already established through over 70 HTO projects (see attached list of HTO modules). The topic summaries will be drafted by the senior researchers who collected the original data under the guidance of Sue Ziebland, and drafts will be discussed and reviewed with her, and by a member of an expert advisory panel. The panel will include family members/carers, social scientists and health and social care professionals. The summaries of key issues will be illustrated with clips from the interviews in video, audio or text format and the researcher will identify, in consultation with the advisory panel, a list of respected national and local organisations and websites that provide other kinds of information and support, for inclusion on the site. Prior to publication of the material on the HTO website by project partners DIPEx we will coordinate two focus groups to ensure that the new site reflects the experiences of families and that we have correctly identified the issues that are important to a broad range of people. This piloting will include participants being invited to explore the draft website and complete a brief questionnaire. After publication the site will be promoted and developed for use by a wide variety of users/stakeholders.