BACKGROUND Given the rapid increase of Internet use for effective health communication, it is important for health practitioners to be able to identify and mobilize active users of online health information across various web-based health intervention programmes. We propose the concept 'health e-mavens' to characterize individuals actively engaged in online health information seeking and sharin...

Enhancing Health Information-Gathering Experiences in Online Health Communities

Health information on the Internet is available to help people increase their knowledge and take more responsibility for their health. This study explored how people that vary in severity of health anxiety search for online health information. A cross-sectional research design was employed to evaluate the relationship between online health information seeking and health anxiety. This study surv...

The Internet has become an important source of health information and support. It is estimated that 80% of Internet users in the USA look for health information online, representing 59% of all adult Americans. Among people aged 18-29 these figures rise to 92% of individuals online, and 71% of all individuals, who will seek health information online [4]. After e-mail and the use of search engine...

BACKGROUND This study investigated the nature of newspaper reporting about online health information in the UK and US. Internet users frequently search for health information online, although the accuracy of the information retrieved varies greatly and can be misleading. Newspapers have the potential to influence public health behaviours, but information has been lacking in relation to how news...

Using data from Wave 1 (2004-2006) of the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB), a national probability sample of women ages 25-45, we examine online information-seeking among ever-infertile women. Of the 1352 women who met criteria for infertility, 459 (34%) neither talked to a doctor nor went online for information, 9% went online only for information, 32% talked to a doctor but did no...