Credibility in Online Health Communities: Effects of Moderator Credentials and Endorsement Cues

Abstract

Online health communities (OHCs) are a common and highly frequented health resource. To create safer resources online, we must know how users think of credibility in these spaces. To understand how new visitors may use cues present within the OHC to establish source credibility, we conducted an online experiment (n = 373) manipulating cues for perceptions of two primary dimensions of credibility—trustworthiness and expertise—by manipulating the presence of endorsement cues (i.e., likes) and of moderators’ health credentials (i.e., medical professional) using a fake OHC. Participants were predominantly male (60.4%) and Caucasian (74.1%). Our findings showed that moderators with health credentials had an effect on both dimensions of source credibility in OHCs, however, likes did not. We also observed a correlation between the perceived social support within the community and both dimensions of source credibility, underscoring the value of supportive online health communities. Our findings can help developers ascertain areas of focus within their communities and users with how perceptions of credibility could help or hinder their own assessments of OHC credibility.

Keywords

• online health communities
• credibility
• trustworthiness
• expertise