Interactions and user-perceived helpfulness in diet information social questions & answers

Abstract

Background: Online health information seeking using social questions and answers (Social Q&A) sites has been increasingly popular in recent years. It calls for better understanding of health information seeking behaviour and interactions between information seekers and information providers. Objectives: The study investigates how diet information seekers interact with information providers on WebMD Answers, which is a Social Q&A site devoted to health-related topics, and examines the factors that constitute a ‘helpful’ answer from an information seeker's perspective. Methods: Bales’ interaction process analysis was applied as the framework to analyse 568 diet-related Q&As from WebMD Answers to identify interaction patterns. Results: Most diet information seekers post questions anonymously and without any detailed description. Individual experts or health organisations provide most answers. Overall, answers are positively received and had a high satisfaction rating. It was also found that information seeker-perceived helpfulness does not depend on who answered the question but to how an information seeker posted the question. Conclusions: This study indicates that answers at WebMD Answers are helpful for diet information seekers. It sheds new light on the interactions during the Q&A process, preferred site functions and important factors that contribute to perceived helpful answers.