Online health communication: Expert and lay dialogic practices

Abstract

The constant development of online media and web technologies influences all spheres of life, modifying traditional practices and social relations. The effect of this evolution can be seen in the realm of health and medical communication, as well as elsewhere. It is reflected in the availability of new ways to communicate, new channels of interaction and new methods employed in the dissemination of medical knowledge and information for both professionals and laypersons. It all contributes to the modification of the established roles and relations between medical experts on the one hand and patients/laypersons on the other.