Quality and Misinformation About Health Conditions in Online Peer Support Groups: Scoping Review
While there is good quality information and advice exchanged between users in online peer support groups, our findings show that misinformation is a problem, which is a matter of public health concern. Confidence in the quality of information shared may determine the utility of online peer support groups for patients and health care professionals. Our review suggests that clinical and academic experts in health conditions could play a valuable role in ensuring the quality of content. Several quality appraisal tools are available to support such an initiative.
Authors
- Bethan Treadgold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0255-7422)
- Jeffrey D. Lambert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4774-9054)
- Emma Pitchforth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9055-9331)
- John Campbell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6752-3493)
- Neil Coulson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9940-909X)
Institutions
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Exeter Primary Care (GB)
- University of Bath (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Published
- 2025-04-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2196/71140
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 14.08