Abstract
BackgroundSeeking health information on the internet is very popular despite the debatable ability of lay users to evaluate the quality of health information and uneven quality of information available on the Web. Consulting the internet for health information is pervasive, particularly when other sources are inaccessible because of time, distance, and money constraints or when sensitive or embarrassing questions are to be explored. Question and answer (Q&A) platforms are Web-based services that provide personalized health advice upon the information seekers’ request. However, it is not clear how the quality of health advices is ensured on these platforms.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to identify how platform design impacts the quality of Web-based health advices and equal access to health information on the internet.MethodsA total of 900 Q&As were collected from 9 Q&A platforms with different design features. Data on the design features for each platform were generated. Paid physicians evaluated the data to quantify the quality of health advices. Guided by the literature, the design features that affected information quality were identified and recorded for each Q&A platform. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and unbiased regression tree methods were used for the analysis.ResultsQ&A platform design and health advice quality were related. Expertise of information providers (beta=.48; P=.001), financial incentive (beta=.4; P=.001), external reputation (beta=.28; P=.002), and question quality (beta=.12; P=.001) best predicted health advice quality. Virtual incentive, Web 2.0 mechanisms, and reputation systems were not associated with health advice quality.ConclusionsAccess to high-quality health advices on the internet is unequal and skewed toward high-income and high-literacy groups. However, there are possibilities to generate high-quality health advices for free.
Highlights
Common drivers of the popular Web-based health care information seeking are serious health needs and inaccessibility of other sources in traditional settings [1] because of time, distance, and financial constraints or the value of a sense of control and empowerment or anonymity [2,3,4,5].With resonance to the idea of frugal innovations in health care [6], so that “more can be done for less for many more people, globally” [7], the internet is seen as a low-cost and convenient way of accessing health information and care that could help in reducing the burden on health care systems
Web 2.0 mechanisms, and reputation systems were not associated with health advice quality
We found that variables representing expertise of information providers, payment for answering questions, external reputation, revenue model, and question quality were the best predictors of health advice quality
Summary
Background Common drivers of the popular Web-based health care information seeking are serious health needs and inaccessibility of other sources in traditional settings [1] because of time, distance, and financial constraints or the value of a sense of control and empowerment or anonymity [2,3,4,5].With resonance to the idea of frugal innovations in health care [6], so that “more can be done for less for many more people, globally” [7], the internet is seen as a low-cost and convenient way of accessing health information and care that could help in reducing the burden on health care systems. Equal opportunity of access to the internet does not guarantee equal access to high-quality health information, which is variable across health topic areas [8]. People find it difficult to find relevant information when they are using search engines to find answers for their question [9,10,11]. Question and answer (Q&A) platforms are Web-based services that provide personalized health advice upon the information seekers’ request. It is not clear how the quality of health advices is ensured on these platforms
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