Abstract

The transformative power of the Internet on all aspects of daily life, including health care, has been widely recognized. These transformations reveal opportunities realized, the promise of future advances, and the problems created by the penetration of the World Wide Web for both individuals and for society at large. Health Web Science explores the role of the Web as it drives discussions, technologies, policies, and solutions related to health. We also examine the impact of the Web's health-related uses on the design, structure and evolution of the Web itself. The orientation of Health Web Science, compared to related research domains, motivates innovation in Web technology and better utilization of the Web for communication, collaboration, information access and sharing, remote sensing, and even remote treatment.

Health Web Science

This monograph is a call to action. It is an urgent request to those using the web to help find solutions to problems facing healthcare globally. The disciplines of Web Science and its subfield Health Web Science explore how the World Wide Web drives discussions, technologies, policies, and solutions, which surround health issues.

The monograph presents Health Web Science as a sub-discipline of Web Science that, while being concerned with the Web's impact on health and wellbeing, also examines the impact of the Web's health-related uses on the design, structure, and evolution of the Web itself. Understanding and appreciating the overlapping, yet divergent disciplinary orientation of Health Web Science compared to related research domains, motivates specific research efforts around better utilization of, innovation on, and communication over and within the Web.

Health Web Science is an ideal reference for researchers and practitioners with an interest in this emerging topic.