Human Interface and the Management of Information: Information, Design and Interaction: 18th International Conference, HCI International 2016 Toronto, Canada, July 17-22, 2016, Proceedings, Part I

In this paper we present a study on the credibility of lay users evaluations of health related web content. We investigate the differences between their approach and the approach of medical experts, analyse whether we can increase their accuracy using a simple support system, and explore the effectiveness of the wisdom of crowds approach. We find that a support system based on expert ratings is effective while relying on the wisdom of crowds can be risky. There is a clear positive bias in lay evaluations that is very difficult to correct. Moreover lay users perceive health related web-content differently than medical experts.