Inside the Health Blogosphere: Governance, Quality and the New Opinion Leaders
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Abstract
Introduction: Although health-related blogs are exploding in number on the Web, there has been very little examination of the governance of these blogs. In light of criticism from various sectors (especially from prominent members of the lay media, and from the clinical community) over the quality and governance of health blogs, I wished to undertake an empirical analysis of the governance of the most popular health blogs on the Web. Further, I wished to compare the content of health blogs to the health-related content of the most popular Canadian newspapers to determine whether blogs offer greater opportunity for consumers to obtain relevant health news content.
Methods: Based on a relational link analysis and a review of the number of active subscribers, I identified the highest density health blogs on the Web. I then created a "blog governance score" based on a number of governance best practices (incl. user privacy protection and content objectivity). I also analyzed the findings to determine the quality of the content of health blogs as compared to lay media health coverage (i.e., in newspapers). This was done by reviewing comparative coverage of the 10 most important medical news stories of 2007 as defined by a consensus of more than 60 clinical experts across North America.
Results: Highly trusted health blogs are mostly "start-ups" that win loyalty via a combination of first-to-market prominence, niche and randomness. Very few highly used health blogs are affiliated with a major media company. Further, a higher governance score does not necessarily correlate with higher global usage (i.e., traffic rank). When reviewing the content of popular health blogs, the following observations can be made: (i) both lay newspapers and health blogs fare poorly on reporting and discussing medical "news that matters." General interest blogs fare as well or better than general interest Canadian newspapers in reporting critical medical stories; (ii) only a small minority of popular health blogs demonstrate overt political partisanship or drug industry sponsorship; (iii) a minority of popular blogs contain prominent user privacy controls in keeping with best practices; (iv) a majority contain some general industry sponsorship; (v) a majority have semi- or full moderation by subject matter experts.
Discussion: Health blogs offer promise in the delivery of engaged interaction for consumers seeking relevant health information. The findings suggest that such blogs are generally well-governed or monitored by subject matter experts and are free from politically partisan bias. Although improved user privacy protocols are necessary, there is little indication that these popular blogs contain personal health data that are linkable to any individual.
Methods: Based on a relational link analysis and a review of the number of active subscribers, I identified the highest density health blogs on the Web. I then created a "blog governance score" based on a number of governance best practices (incl. user privacy protection and content objectivity). I also analyzed the findings to determine the quality of the content of health blogs as compared to lay media health coverage (i.e., in newspapers). This was done by reviewing comparative coverage of the 10 most important medical news stories of 2007 as defined by a consensus of more than 60 clinical experts across North America.
Results: Highly trusted health blogs are mostly "start-ups" that win loyalty via a combination of first-to-market prominence, niche and randomness. Very few highly used health blogs are affiliated with a major media company. Further, a higher governance score does not necessarily correlate with higher global usage (i.e., traffic rank). When reviewing the content of popular health blogs, the following observations can be made: (i) both lay newspapers and health blogs fare poorly on reporting and discussing medical "news that matters." General interest blogs fare as well or better than general interest Canadian newspapers in reporting critical medical stories; (ii) only a small minority of popular health blogs demonstrate overt political partisanship or drug industry sponsorship; (iii) a minority of popular blogs contain prominent user privacy controls in keeping with best practices; (iv) a majority contain some general industry sponsorship; (v) a majority have semi- or full moderation by subject matter experts.
Discussion: Health blogs offer promise in the delivery of engaged interaction for consumers seeking relevant health information. The findings suggest that such blogs are generally well-governed or monitored by subject matter experts and are free from politically partisan bias. Although improved user privacy protocols are necessary, there is little indication that these popular blogs contain personal health data that are linkable to any individual.
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