Yong Jeong Yi

The purpose of the current study is to investigate perceptions regarding the quality of online health answers in social Q&A. The current study differs from previous studies by focusing on the topic of health, comparing the evaluations of users against experts. Three groups of participants – librarians, nurses, and users of Yahoo! Answers – were invited to assess the quality of health answers posted in Yahoo! Answers. Forty participants from each group reviewed a total of 400 health answers, rating them with a 5‐points Likert scale according to 10 evaluation criteria: accuracy, completeness, relevance, objectivity, source credibility, readability, politeness, confidence, knowledge, and efforts. Findings indicated that there was no significant difference of the quality ratings between librarians and nurses. There was, however, significant difference between those two expert groups (librarians and nurses) and users. Librarians and nurses rated the quality of answers lower on most of the evaluation criteria than users. This research will help librarians and nurses better understand how laypeople, such as their patrons and patients, evaluate online health information in social contexts, leading to the offering of better health information services to these audiences.

The quality of health information shared in the context of social and emotional support is of critical concern, but little is known about the quality of health information in community contexts and about socio‐emotional factors that impact evaluation of the quality of health information. This poster reports on a study of the quality of health answers in social Q&A sites, focusing on the socio‐emotional reactions of and evaluation criteria discussed by three groups of evaluators: librarians, nurses, and site users. Forty participants from each group evaluated 10 answers each drawn from the Health categories of Yahoo! Answers. Results from qualitative analysis of responses to open‐ended questions identified five common expressed emotions: fear or concern, confidence (or lack thereof), surprise, trust, and empathy. Five evaluation criteria and indicators were also identified: sources, subjectivity, style, completeness, and accuracy. Our results illuminate key differences in social and emotional factors across the three groups and the need for appropriate balance in educational efforts for evaluation of and the provision of health information.