Health blogs can contain a myriad of topics. They can be published by individuals or businesses including fitness clubs, health food companies and medical institutions. Some health blogs, such as The Mighty, discuss mental ailments like depression, anxiety and PTSD. Others are focused on self-improvement, such as the Daily OM and Zen Habits. They give simple guidance that can help people live better lives.

1. A greater awareness of self

There's an abundance of web-based health information, and it can be difficult to differentiate yourself. To attract people to check out your health blog, you need a hook. Try writing a provocative or exciting headline to attract people's attention and keep them reading.

Studies of medical blogs show that readers read them due to the fact that they're both informative and uplifting. Additionally, they make readers aware of their own well-being, and consider taking preventative steps after reading a blog.

A study randomly assigned people either one of the three blog-type situations: personal stories, a general cancer story and a statistical condition that included data and cancer statistics (all evaluated on seven-point Likert-type scales). Each blog post were evaluated as simple to understand, easy to read, written well, and instructive.

2. Empowerment

An essential aspect to mental health is feeling empowered to take the actions necessary to lead a healthier life. A blog post about someone who is able to manage an disease is a good way for readers can feel confident to check their own health conditions or take preventative measures.

Studies using experimental scenario-based designs along with a nonexperimental real-world research on self-described readers revealed that reading blogs was linked with the intention of readers to engage in certain, pre-emptive health steps. The blogs could be featured personal tales or statistics about the problem, both were successful in influencing these intentions. It was a result that did not depend on the reader's perception of susceptibility and risk.

It is clear that blogging can be a very effective method to boost confidence, particularly when the blog posts contain content that is emotionally powerful. But, it's crucial to look at the effects it has for those who view these blogs and to ensure that they don't come away with a feeling of being unsupported or disempowering.

3. Communal communication

Patients often write blogs in order to share their experiences with a wider audience that goes beyond families and friends. Studies on cancer patients and caregivers show that blogging is stimulating, gives them a sense of control, leaves a legacy and encourages deep conversations.

Bloggers can use the blog format as their personal platforms to share their ideas and thoughts and can cover a variety of issues like losing weight, nutrition, running and disease management. Blogs may be journalistic or information sites and can be classified by specialization. Despite the varying format it is clear that reading medical blogs can influence the decision to make future health-related preventive actions, regardless of readers' impressions regarding the dangers of disease. This happens because of blogs' ability to influence the readers' narrative sandbox.

4. Empathy

If you are able to read about how others struggle this can aid you in building an appreciation of where they're from. This will make it simpler for you to be a prosocial person and to diffuse conflict. Get to know about this Health Blog in the link.

Nevertheless, it should be stressed that Lipps' characterization of empathy as the primary epistemic means for knowing other minds was not taken seriously by most philosophers in the analytic or continental/hermeneutic traditions (for exceptions see Prandtl 1910, Stein 1917, Scheler 1973). In particular, it was believed to be advocating an extremely uninformed view of human sciences like history and literary interpretation, with the assumption that facts are important and do not only depend on information inside the minds of individual actors.

Further, the relationship between empathy for affective and compassion may not be as strong as was suggested in Hoffman (2000). For example, a newborn infant's reaction to the distress cry of a person could possibly be an elementary form of emotional contagion than empathy for that individual's emotional state.

5. Connection

In a time when we find ourselves becoming increasingly separated, reading about health issues can help you feel of being not in a lonely place. Learn about what others are experiencing and then share your experiences to help you connect to the community around you.

The results of research have shown that reading patient blogs impacts intentions to take future preventative health measures. Two studies using scenario-based research and another qualitative study using real blog readers have confirmed the conclusion. However, perceptions of risk for disease and severity were not the primary factors in the causality.

Patients and medical professionals alike, understanding the type of content is influencing health motives will help us understand which types of health blogs work best in influencing health-related behavior. This leads to more effective educational outreach for patients as well as healthcare.