Health, Search, And Social Media

People who search for health related issues online are exposed to a large amount of user-generated media. They are frequently relying on corporate, nonprofit and government Web sites along with blogs and other social media according to a study from Envision Solutions done in December.

Fard Johnmar, founder of Google and site.

One interesting if alarming piece of information from the study was that three quarters of those who look online for health information do not check the source and date of the content they find.

In some instances wikis and blogs are receiving their fair share of traffic. Five percent of those searching online for information about the antidepressant Lexapro between mid-December 2006 and mid-January 2007 went to CrazyMeds.org. This is a blog that contains information about the safety and efficacy of psychiatric medications.

The study also revealed that Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl