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A study of peer-to-peer information in a domain of uncertainty: the case of epilepsy

Center for Technology Assessment PO. Box 1154 State College, PA 16801, DPL10{at}psu.edu

Li Chen

Center for Technology Assessment PO. Box 1154 State College, PA 16801, lchen22{at}vminetwork.org

As increasing amounts of complex health information become available via the Internet, providers frequently advise that it is important for health consumers to carefully consider the source of lay information, as well as discuss the clinical information they find with their healthcare provider. Beyond clinical indicators and standards, however, there exist few evaluative frameworks for assessing health information, especially within peer-to-peer networks. Traditional methods of analyzing online discussion content, such as keyword examination or network structure analysis, have proven largely unsatisfactory for unstructured health data analysis. Using a disease-specific illustration, this study proposes a theoretical framework that is broad enough to encompass a variety of poorly understood healthcare domains, and provides one example of an often misunderstood and ambiguous disease that lends itself to online patient-centered discussion, which can serve to supplement traditional clinical information exchange.

Key Words: chat • discussion • domains of uncertainty • epilepsy • hierarchy • Internet

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Health Informatics Journal, Vol. 13, No. 4, 303-316 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1460458207082979


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Lorence, D. Articles by Chen, L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lorence, D. Articles by Chen, L. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Epilepsy Social Bookmarking                         What's this?