Health Information Sharing on the Web: The Influences of Age and Gender

Ji-Hyun Kim (김지현); Junga Lee (이정아)

doi:10.3743/KOSIM.2012.29.3.061

Health Information Sharing on the Web: The Influences of Age and Gender

Journal of the Korean Society for Information Management
Abbr : JKOSIM
2012, 29(3), pp.61~77
DOI : 10.3743/KOSIM.2012.29.3.061
Publisher : 한국정보관리학회
Research Area : Interdisciplinary Studies > Library and Information Science
Received : May 19, 2012
Accepted : September 12, 2012
Published : September 30, 2012

Ji-Hyun Kim ¹, Junga Lee ²

¹중앙대학교
²연세대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study investigated what web users share on a health website and how the demographic characteristics of users reflect health information sharing behavior. By using a content analysis method, this study analyzed 1,042 randomly chosen messages in the discussion board of a health website. The results revealed that the health website users emotionally supported other users, provided health information, and built relationships between them. Two third of the health website users shared his/her thoughts or feelings about ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) on the health website and one fourth of the health website users connected with others who had ALS. A half of the users actively provided information as a direct response to a question. No significant differences were discerned with regard to total posting frequency by age and gender effect. However, the male users in the 50s answered questions to others more actively and tried to manage their life better than the other age groups.

KEYWORDS

health information sharing, web users, age effect, gender effect, content analysis, health websites

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* References for papers published after 2024 are currently being built.

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Journal of the Korean Society for Information Management 2024 KCI Impact Factor : 1.35

Health Information Sharing on the Web: The Influences of Age and Gender

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Journal of the Korean Society for Information Management 2024 KCI Impact Factor : 1.35

Health Information Sharing on the Web: The Influences of Age and Gender

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