The making of expert patients: The role of online health communities in arthritis self-management

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 1613-1625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Willis
Keyword(s):  
Self Management ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
Expert Patients

E-HEALTH AND ONLINE HEALTH COMMUNITIES IN THE DAILY LIVES OF OLDER RURAL RESIDENTS DURING THE PANDEMIC

2021 ◽  
pp. 538-544
Author(s):  
К. А. Галкин
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Computer Literacy ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Leningrad Region ◽  
Rural Medicine ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Health Communities

Ситуация пандемии COVID-19 в очередной раз напомнила о необходимости использования онлайн-сообществ здоровья, особенно в тех районах, где не хватает мест в местных больницах или существуют проблемы с получением качественной медицинской помощи. Это, например, сельские районы, где медицина ориентирована на лечение экстренно возникающих заболеваний и у врачей существуют сложности с возможностью лечения новой коронавирусной инфекции. Онлайн-сообщества здоровья в таком случае предоставляют возможность узнать необходимую информацию, а также общаться со специалистами, которые знают особенности нового коронавируса и могут дать необходимые советы. В настоящей статье на примере глубинных интервью с пожилыми людьми из сёл Ленинградской обл. и Республики Карелия рассмотрена роль телемедицины для пожилых людей и общения в онлайн-сообществах здоровья в контексте преодоления одиночества и изолированности, которая существует в сельской местности. В статье проанализированы особенности и основные препятствия для использования пожилыми людьми телемедицины и общения в онлайнсообществах здоровья - это проблемы с инфраструктурой и отключением электричества, отсутствие у пожилых людей компьютерной грамотности для общения и взаимодействия в онлайн-сообществах здоровья. Роль последних рассмотрена с точки зрения развития самозаботы пожилых людей в сельской местности в периферийных поселениях из-за отсутствия необходимой медицинской помощи. The situation of the COVID-19 pandemic has once again reminded of the need to use telemedicine and online health communities, especially in areas where there are not enough places in local hospitals or there are problems with obtaining quality medical care, such as rural areas where rural medicine is focused on treatment of emergency diseases and doctors have difficulties with the possibility of treatment, as well as explaining about the new coronavirus infection to patients and how this disease can be treated. In this case, online health communities provide an opportunity to find out the necessary information, as well as communicate with specialists who know the features of the new coronavirus and can give the necessary advice. Using the example of in-depth interviews with older people from villages in the Leningrad Region and the Republic of Karelia, the article examines the role of telemedicine for older people and communication in online health communities in the context of overcoming loneliness and isolation that exist in rural areas. The article analyzes the features of the use of telemedicine and the key barriers to the use of telemedicine and communication of older people in online disease communities. In rural areas the main barriers to telemedicine use are infrastructure problems and power outages, as well as the lack of computer literacy for communication and elder people’s interaction in online health communities. In the article the role of online health communities is considered in the context of the self-care of older people and from the point of view of the development of self-care of older people in rural peripheral settlements due to the lack of necessary medical care.

scholarly journals Empowering patients to co‐design Covid‐19 responses: the role of online health communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian Garcia Martinez ◽  
Carlos Bezos Daleske ◽  
Áurea Benítez León ◽  
Simón Moisés Lalanza Rodelgo ◽  
Raquel Orive Espinosa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Health Communities

scholarly journals Collective Empowerment in Online Health Communities: Scale Development and Empirical Validation

10.2196/14392 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. e14392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Atanasova ◽  
Gregor Petric
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Factorial Structure ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
Collective Empowerment

Background The role of online health communities (OHCs) in patient empowerment is growing and has been increasingly studied in recent years. Research has focused primarily on individualistic conception of patients’ empowerment, with much less attention paid to the role of OHCs in the development of patients’ collective empowerment. Although OHCs have immense potential for empowerment that goes beyond the individual, the concept and scale of collective empowerment in OHCs have not yet been developed or validated. Objective This study aimed to develop an instrument for measuring collective empowerment in online health communities (CE-OHC) and to test its quality by investigating its factorial structure, reliability, construct validity, and predictive validity. Methods The CE-OHC scale was developed according to a strict methodology for developing valid and reliable scales. An initial set of 20 items was first tested in the pilot study conducted in 2016 using a sample of 280 registered users of Slovenia’s largest OHC. A refined version with 11 items was tested in the main study conducted in 2018 on a random sample of 30,000 registered users of the same OHC. The final sample comprised 784 users. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate the factorial structure, discriminant validity, and convergent validity of the scale. Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to determine the CE-OHC scale’s internal consistency. To establish the predictive validity, ordinary least squares regression was performed to test the role of CE-OHC in users’ civic participation. Results The EFA resulted in a two-factor solution, and the two factors—knowledge of resources and resource mobilization for collective action—together explain 63.8% of the variance. The second-order CFA demonstrated a good fit to the data (root mean square error of approximation=0.07) and the scale had a good internal consistency (alpha=.86). Although evidence of the scale’s convergent validity was partially provided, discriminant validity of the scale remained unconfirmed. Overall, CE-OHC was confirmed to be a predictor of users’ civic participation, but the influence was somewhat weak and inconsistent across two subscales. Conclusions The proposed CE-OHC scale is a reliable and relatively valid instrument and serves as a good baseline to advance the measurement of collective empowerment in OHC contexts. This is the first scale developed for this purpose, and future research should focus on the development of a clear nomological network of the collective empowerment construct in relation to the OHC settings.

The Power of Peers: Applying User-Generated Content to Health Behaviors “Off-Line”

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (13) ◽  
pp. 2081-2093 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Willis
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Disease Diagnosis ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Shared Content ◽  
Health Community ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health Communities

Many patients seek and share information online regarding health, especially those diagnosed with chronic disease. The social cognitive theory is used as the theoretical framework for analyzing how members learn within online health communities. This study conducted in-depth interviews with members from online health communities related to arthritis to understand their motivation for participating in the community and how the content exchanged therein is applied to managing their disease. Four themes were identified: processing disease diagnosis, collaborating to solve problem, recognizing personal limitations, and appreciating that health is variable. Topical communication within the online communities was often tailored to members’ situational needs with the ultimate goal being better self-management. The findings demonstrate the online health community is an environment that invites members who share common characteristics to engage with one another and with the shared content for the purpose of learning arthritis self-management strategies. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Collective Empowerment in Online Health Communities: Scale Development and Empirical Validation (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Atanasova ◽  
Gregor Petric
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Factorial Structure ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
Collective Empowerment

BACKGROUND The role of online health communities (OHCs) in patient empowerment is growing and has been increasingly studied in recent years. Research has focused primarily on individualistic conception of patients’ empowerment, with much less attention paid to the role of OHCs in the development of patients’ collective empowerment. Although OHCs have immense potential for empowerment that goes beyond the individual, the concept and scale of collective empowerment in OHCs have not yet been developed or validated. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to develop an instrument for measuring collective empowerment in online health communities (CE-OHC) and to test its quality by investigating its factorial structure, reliability, construct validity, and predictive validity. METHODS The CE-OHC scale was developed according to a strict methodology for developing valid and reliable scales. An initial set of 20 items was first tested in the pilot study conducted in 2016 using a sample of 280 registered users of Slovenia’s largest OHC. A refined version with 11 items was tested in the main study conducted in 2018 on a random sample of 30,000 registered users of the same OHC. The final sample comprised 784 users. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate the factorial structure, discriminant validity, and convergent validity of the scale. Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to determine the CE-OHC scale’s internal consistency. To establish the predictive validity, ordinary least squares regression was performed to test the role of CE-OHC in users’ civic participation. RESULTS The EFA resulted in a two-factor solution, and the two factors—knowledge of resources and resource mobilization for collective action—together explain 63.8% of the variance. The second-order CFA demonstrated a good fit to the data (root mean square error of approximation=0.07) and the scale had a good internal consistency (alpha=.86). Although evidence of the scale’s convergent validity was partially provided, discriminant validity of the scale remained unconfirmed. Overall, CE-OHC was confirmed to be a predictor of users’ civic participation, but the influence was somewhat weak and inconsistent across two subscales. CONCLUSIONS The proposed CE-OHC scale is a reliable and relatively valid instrument and serves as a good baseline to advance the measurement of collective empowerment in OHC contexts. This is the first scale developed for this purpose, and future research should focus on the development of a clear nomological network of the collective empowerment construct in relation to the OHC settings.

Diabetes self-management in online health communities: an information exchange perspective (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Min
Keyword(s):  
Information Sharing ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Online Health Communities ◽  
Health Communities ◽  
Diabetes Patients

BACKGROUND Online health communities (OHCs), with a wealth of multi-source information exchange, have provided a convenient way for diabetes patients to actively involve in their self-management and been widely used. Information exchange assists patients with health-related decisions to actively engage in their care, and reduce the occurrence of potential complications of diabetes. However, there has been relatively little research on the information exchange behaviors and its effect on health on professional online medical platforms—OHCs. OBJECTIVE Using a social exchange theory, we focus on two sources of information (doctors and patients) to investigate information exchange behaviors and moderating effects of information price. METHODS The logistic and ordinal regression models are used to get our empirical results by collecting a rich dataset from the biggest OHC in China. RESULTS We found that first information sharing from doctors (β=0.014, p<0.001) and other patients (β=0.009, p<0.01) can promote the patient’s information sharing behavior. Second, the moderating effects of information price are heterogeneous and change with the exchange participants (β=-0.005, p<0.001; β=0.003, p<0.05). Third, rich information exchange supports patients’ self-management and improves their health status (β=0.009, p<0.001; β=0.018, p<0.003). CONCLUSIONS This study is among the first that tests the information exchange behavior and consequence for diabetes patients in OHCs and examines the moderating effects of information price. Our present study produces several insights, which have implications for social exchange, patient behavior, online health communities, and information technology in diabetes self-management literature. By understanding the online information exchange behaviors of doctor-patient and patient-patient, we are able to understand how to reach people to receive and deliver diabetes information through these professional OHCs.

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