Abstract
Internet forums are an attractive source of health-related information. We aimed to investigate threads in the gastroenterological section of a popular Polish medical forum for anonymous users. We characterised the following aspects in threads: the main problem of the original poster, declared ailments and rationale of the responses (rational, neutral, harmful or not related to the problem of the original poster). We analysed over 2717 forum threads initiated in the years 2010–2018. Users mostly asked for diagnosis of the problem [1814 (66.8%)], treatment [1056 (38.9%)] and diagnostic interpretation [308 (11.3%)]. The most commonly declared symptoms were abdominal pain [1046 (38.5%)], diarrhea [454 (16.7%)] and bloating [354 (13.0%)]. Alarm symptoms were mentioned in 309 (11.4%) threads. From the total 3550 responses, 1257 (35.4%) were assessed as rational, 693 (19.5%) as neutral, 157 (4.4%) as harmful and 1440 (40.6%) as not related to the user’s problem. The original poster’s declaration of blood in stool, dyspepsia, pain in the abdominal right lower quadrant, weight loss or inflammatory bowel disease was positively related to obtaining at least one potentially harmful response. Advice from anonymous users on Internet forums may be irrational and disregards alarm symptoms, which can delay the diagnosis of life-threatening diseases.
Highlights
Gastrointestinal ailments are perceived as an embarrassing problem [1]
We aimed to analyse threads associated with gastrointestinal complaints on an Internet forum for anonymous users
We identified n = 145 (0.05%) threads, with initial posts classified as off-topic or advertisements which were excluded from further analysis
Summary
Almost 45% of men and 33% of women do not inform the physician about heartburn [2], and 50% of the individuals do not disclose problems with faecal incontinence [3,4]. It is reported that women, younger people and patients with the worse condition are more likely not to inform a doctor on their health problem [5]. A lack of trust in confidentiality in a medical office and limited access to public healthcare may convince patients to search for treatment on the Internet [6,7,8]. Up to 90% of the web users look for health-related information [9], and 80% of them perceive the information they found as reliable [10].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
