Health Consumers Seek Info and Advice, But Don't Give Back Online Stephanie Pappas - LiveScience
go to original July 31, 2013

People consulting the Internet for health information and advice take what's presented, but rarely give back by posting their own reviews or experiences, new research finds.

This pattern could be skewing the "wisdom of the crowds" about doctors, hospitals and treatment options, said study researcher Rosemary Thackeray of Brigham Young University.

"If more people are contributing to the dialogue, we have maybe better information," Thackeray told LiveScience. "Versus with fewer people, it might be less reliable, more biased."

An estimated 60 percent of people go online looking for health information, and social media is a part of that picture. Social sites include not just the big names like Facebook and Twitter, Thackeray said, but forums, discussion boards and health-specific sites such as PatientsLikeMe.

Thackeray and her colleagues analyzed data from the 2010 Health Tracking Survey, part of the Pew Internet & American Life Project. As part of the telephone survey, 1,745 adults who said they look up health information online answered questions about the sort of information they sought and posted.

Read the rest at LiveScience

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