When and why do people post questions about health and illness on Web 2.0-based Q&A sites in Japan
Nakayama, K.; Nishio, A.; Yokoyama, Y.; Setoyama, Y.; Togari, T.; Yonekura, Y.
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics 146: 731
2009
ISSN/ISBN: 0926-9630 PMID: 19592951 Document Number: 631256
Web2.0-based Q&A sites such as Yahoo! Answers and OKWave are the fastest-growing sites in Japan. Such sites exploit user-generated content and information-sharing methods and have established point systems and user ratings to reward participation. We analyzed the questions and answers concerning health and illness posted on these sites. We found that the people who posted questions desired to obtain information related to their health problems from various sources, and to seek validation of this information not only by experts but also by people who have undergone similar experiences.