Relatives and friends queries on a psychologists "question and answer" forum online - authorship and contents.
BACKGROUND
Families living with mental illness can experience added burden and eventually own ill health. National and international guidelines support the development of web based solutions to cost-effectively address health care needs. Mapping patterns of internet use may help tailor interventions to effectively address users' needs.


OBJECTIVE
The study's aim was to explore the contents of relatives' and friends' queries on a psychologists' website with professional feedback.


METHODS
All visible questions [n = 59] classified under the website's "helping a relative/friend" category between 20 090 615-20 130 927 were printed out and analyzed using content analysis.


RESULTS
The analysis resulted in four categories and subcategories illuminating families'/friends' areas of concern: support to help; concerns with health care; young children's welfare; and repercussions on own health.


CONCLUSIONS
"Question & Answer" [Q&A] forums can shed light onto health seekers' online behavior and may be a way of addressing families' needs of support and information. Further studies are needed to assess the replies' therapeutic value for their recipients.
Department of Health Sciences, Lund University , Lund , Sweden.
Sigrid
S
Stjernswärd
D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000379:methods*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support
Caregivers; family; information seeking behavior; internet; mental health