HealthBoards.com - Health Site Guide

www.HealthBoards.com

While it certainly contains a wealth of health information, HealthBoards puts a strong emphasis on connecting people with others in similar situations. Rated as one of the top 25 health information web sites in 2005 by Consumer Reports Health WebWatch, the HealthBoards community consists of more than 250,000 registered users and contains more than 2 million posted messages.

The support group community includes message boards on more than 150 diseases, conditions and health topics. The site requires posters to sign up via free registration.

The Home page allows visitors to search for information (via WebMD) according to Health Information News and Features, Research Diseases and Conditions, or by the Latest Wellness News. The message board list is very comprehensive, including areas on Gulf War Syndrome, Health Insurance Issues, and Relationships Health, in addition to the expected boards for diseases and medical conditions.

There is also a link to a Research Help Board, which allows members to exchange research resources so they can better partner with their healthcare providers and empower themselves to manage diagnosis decisions and treatment choices.

The navigation bar at the top allows users to jump to various pages in the site, including Message Boards. The Health Center page contains WebMD News and Features, Tools and Quizzes such as a Local Pollen Counter, and health-related polls. The Search tab is a valuable one, allowing visitors to quickly sort through the millions of message board posts to find the ones addressing their specific concern. The Testimonials tab is self-explanatory; the Resources tab contains links to about a dozen related online information sources (including wrongdiagnosis.com, in case you’re unsure the doctor has diagnosed your correctly); and an FAQ tab contains information on the site’s posting rules and policies, how to link to the site, and a listing of common abbreviations used on the Infertility and Pregnancy Boards, the Panic Disorders/Stress and Anxiety Boards, and the message boards for Women.

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