Applied Psychology

Elizabeth Sillence, Northumbria University, UK

Monday March 11th, 1pm-2pm

Room G20, Cork Enterprise Centre, North Mall Campus

Seeking, selecting and evaluating different online health information and advice remains a tricky task for consumers. While the volume and diversity of eHealth resources increases, decisions about how to trust information encountered online become ever more complicated. In the first part of the talk, we will explore the changing face of trust in eHealth over the last 15 years as we move from more medical or authoritative websites towards the use of social media and personal experiences within health. We will also explore the relevance of trust in relation to mobile health apps. In the second part of the talk, we will focus on the role of online resources in health decision-making. Here, we will discuss some of the ways in which decision-making is supported and challenged by the internet across a range of platforms and explore the relationship (and tensions) between online resources and healthcare professionals.