@Article{info:doi/10.2196/48257,
author="Alasmari, Ashwag
and Zhou, Lina",
title="Quality Measurement of Consumer Health Questions: Content and Language Perspectives",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2024",
month="Sep",
day="12",
volume="26",
pages="e48257",
keywords="question quality; quality measurement; health questions; information needs; information behavior; information sharing; consumer; health information; health information consumers; quality",
abstract="Background: Health information consumers increasingly rely on question-and-answer (Q{\&}A) communities to address their health concerns. However, the quality of questions posted significantly impacts the likelihood and relevance of received answers. Objective: This study aims to improve our understanding of the quality of health questions within web-based Q{\&}A communities. Methods: We develop a novel framework for defining and measuring question quality within web-based health communities, incorporating content- and language-based variables. This framework leverages k-means clustering and establishes automated metrics to assess overall question quality. To validate our framework, we analyze questions related to kidney disease from expert-curated and community-based Q{\&}A platforms. Expert evaluations confirm the validity of our quality construct, while regression analysis helps identify key variables. Results: High-quality questions were more likely to include demographic and medical information than lower-quality questions (P<.001). In contrast, asking questions at the various stages of disease development was less likely to reflect high-quality questions (P<.001). Low-quality questions were generally shorter with lengthier sentences than high-quality questions (P<.01). Conclusions: Our findings empower consumers to formulate more effective health information questions, ultimately leading to better engagement and more valuable insights within web-based Q{\&}A communities. Furthermore, our findings provide valuable insights for platform developers and moderators seeking to enhance the quality of user interactions and foster a more trustworthy and informative environment for health information exchange. ",
issn="1438-8871",
doi="10.2196/48257",
url="https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e48257",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/48257"
}