Website Sharing in Online Health Communities: A Descriptive Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

An increasing number of people visit online health communities to seek health information. In these communities, people share experiences and information with others, often complemented with links to different websites. Understanding how people share websites can help us understand patients' needs in online health communities and improve how peer patients share health information online.

Objective

Our goal was to understand (1) what kinds of websites are shared, (2) information quality of the shared websites, (3) who shares websites, (4) community differences in website-sharing behavior, and (5) the contexts in which patients share websites. We aimed to find practical applications and implications of website-sharing practices in online health communities.

Metho

SUBMITTER: Nath C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4730108 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature