Relatives and friends queries on a psychologists "question and answer" forum online - authorship and contents.

Background: Families living with mental illness can experience added burden and eventually own ill health. National and international guidelines support the development of web based solutions to cost-effectively address health care needs. Mapping patterns of internet use may help tailor interventions to effectively address users' needs. Aim: The study's aim was to explore the contents of relatives' and friends' queries on a psychologists' website with professional feedback. Methods: All visible questions [n = 59] classified under the website's "helping a relative/friend" category between 20 090 615-20 130 927 were printed out and analyzed using content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in four categories and subcategories illuminating families'/friends' areas of concern: support to help; concerns with health care; young children's welfare; and repercussions on own health. Conclusions: "Question & Answer" [Q&A] forums can shed light onto health seekers' online behavior and may be a way of addressing families' needs of support and information. Further studies are needed to assess the replies' therapeutic value for their recipients.