Online Health Forums and Services: Benefits, Risks and Perspectives

The internet provides a major source of exchanging health informationthrough online portals and new media. Internet users can access health sitesand online forums to obtain health information. In turn, these informationsources act as a catalyst for wellbeing and improving personal health carebehaviors and routines. Competent health institutions encourage the development of theseindividual behaviors that enable individuals to increase health empowerment and totake responsibility for their own health needs, diagnosis and treatment. Online Health Forums andServices: Benefits, Risks and Perspectives is an investigation of the useof online health forums and services. The author first introduces the reader tothe theories that define online social behaviors in terms of health careservices. The chapters following this introduction attempt to account for the variationsin online health care portal use and to what extent does social networkinginduce variations in health behaviors grounded in theory. A summary of mediaused for affecting health behavior change is also provided along with adiscussion of the socioeconomic attributes of the individuals most likely to beaffected in terms of their health behaviors. The book provides a comprehensive perspective that links the aspects ofthe micro-level use of the Internet for health purposes (accessing healthrelated websites, participation in health forums and networking sites) to themacro level practices of telemedicine. Readers will be able to understand thesocial and health characteristics of the different groups of patients andestimate the extent to which individuals in need of health and medicalinformation are taking advantage of the availability of information andcommunication platforms to improve their health, or if they are being left behind.This is a timely reference for healthcare professionals, researchers andconsultants involved in digital health care initiatives and public health administration who areseeking information about how access to online health information can influencelifestyles in a way that impacts human behavior in a positive, meaningful way.