Rhetoric of Health and Medicine Dec 2025 Open Access

Embodying Expertise: The Influence of Online Information in Health Decision Making

Shanna Cameron University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire

Abstract

This article engages with rhetoric of health and medicine (RHM) scholarship on embodiment and expertise in online health communication to demonstrate how rhetorical tactics help patients make embodied health decisions. This study analyzes 320 online postings, 84 published narratives, 30 surveys and written reflections, and 10 interviews in an online health community for Asherman syndrome (AS), a rare illness that develops after reproductive surgery. The findings of this study highlight how patients incorporate online information into their decision-making practices by accumulating embodied knowledge, tailoring questions, insisting on specific treatments, and switching healthcare providers. This article argues that patients’ rhetorical tactics, when shared and accumulated over time, can transform treatment outcomes.

Journal
Rhetoric of Health and Medicine
Published
2025-12-09
DOI
10.5744/rhm.2025.2631
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Topics
rhetorical criticism body and rhetoric
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