Abstract
About 113 million Americans have reported seeking health information online; however, little is known about the quality (or qualities) of the information being retrieved. Users have reported seeking information about health issues in an attempt to reduce negatively appraised uncertainties (Brashers, 2007), but less is known about the ability of the retrieved information to increase or produce unwanted uncertainty. A content analysis of online cancer news was conducted and suggests that 65% of Internet-based cancer news contains message features previously linked to the production of uncertainty (e.g., ambiguous or complex information). Though future research is required regarding uncertainty-related content and its effects, this project provides a foundation for such future endeavors.
Acknowledgements
We will always be thankful for the guidance and friendship he provided. The authors also would like to thank Scott Althaus, Travis Dixon, and David Tewksbury for their insights on previous versions of this manuscript and Jeff Rauch, Julius Riles, and Angeline Sangalang for their diligent coding and sampling assistance