scholarly journals Psychiatry on the Internet: survey of an OCD mailing list

1997 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan J. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Support Groups ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Mailing List ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Internet Support Group ◽  
Internet Support ◽  
Source Of Information

Professionals and consumers have joined psychiatric support groups on the Internet. This paper reports on a survey of members of an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) mailing list (OCD-L). Members, who were primarily patients with OCD, but included family members and professionals, were generally positive about the benefits of the list, finding it a useful source of information about treatment, and a helpful source of support. It is concluded that a useful component of the management of OCD may include Joining OCD–L or a similar Internet support group, as benefits seem to outweigh possible problems. Further study of other Internet psychiatric support groups, which may differ significantly from OCD–L, seems warranted.

scholarly journals Direction to an Internet Support Group Compared With Online Expressive Writing for People With Depression and Anxiety: A Randomized Trial

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. e12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Dean ◽  
Henry WW Potts ◽  
Chris Barker
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Expressive Writing ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Internet Support Group ◽  
Internet Support ◽  
Internet Support Groups

Background Depression and anxiety are common, often comorbid, conditions, and Internet support groups for them are well used. However, little rigorous research has been conducted on the outcome of these groups. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an Internet support group in reducing depression and anxiety, and increasing social support and life satisfaction. Methods A randomized trial compared direction to an existing Internet support group for depression and anxiety with an online expressive writing condition. A total of 863 (628 female) United Kingdom, United States, and Canadian volunteers were recruited via the Internet. Online, self-report measures of depression, anxiety, social support, and satisfaction with life were administered at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Results All four outcomes – depression, anxiety, social support, and satisfaction with life – improved over the 6 months of the study (all P<.001). There was no difference in outcome between the two conditions: participants responded similarly to the expressive writing and the Internet support group. Engagement with the Internet support group was low, it had high 6-month attrition (692/795, 87%) and low adherence, and it received mixed and often negative feedback. The main problems reported were a lack of comfort and connection with others, negative social comparisons, and the potential for receiving bad advice. Expressive writing had lower attrition (194/295, 65%) and participants reported that it was more acceptable. Conclusions Until further evidence accumulates, directing people with depression and anxiety to Internet support groups cannot be recommended. On the other hand, online expressive writing seems to have potential, and its use for people with depression and anxiety warrants further investigation. Trial Registration Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01149265; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01149265 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6hYISlNFT)

"There's Always Hope"

2010 ◽  
pp. 302-318
Author(s):  
Tamar Ginossar
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Group Methods ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Internet Support Group ◽  
Internet Support ◽  
Internet Support Groups

The Internet has changed the ways in which many people cope with illnesses, by allowing for conversations between similar others that transcend traditional barriers of time and place. Despite the revolutionary potential of Internet support groups, little is known about the ebb and flow of discussion in these groups. This chapter describes online discussion in a Lung Cancer Internet Support Group. Methods include quantitative and qualitative analysis of email messages posted to this group during one month. The results reveal (a) the content of the discussion, (b) participants in the discussion, (c) topics that elicited discussion and (d) themes and messages that were “silenced.” The implications of these findings to patients and their family members, to scholars, and to health practitioners are discussed.

scholarly journals Community Structure of a Mental Health Internet Support Group: Modularity in User Thread Participation

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. e20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Carron-Arthur ◽  
Julia Reynolds ◽  
Kylie Bennett ◽  
Anthony Bennett ◽  
John Alastair Cunningham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Internet Support Group ◽  
Internet Support ◽  
Registration Date

Background Little is known about the community structure of mental health Internet support groups, quantitatively. A greater understanding of the factors, which lead to user interaction, is needed to explain the design information of these services and future research concerning their utility. Objective A study was conducted to determine the characteristics of users associated with the subgroup community structure of an Internet support group for mental health issues. Methods A social network analysis of the Internet support group BlueBoard (blueboard.anu.edu.au) was performed to determine the modularity of the community using the Louvain method. Demographic characteristics age, gender, residential location, type of user (consumer, carer, or other), registration date, and posting frequency in subforums (depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, carers, general (eg, “chit chat”), and suggestions box) of the BlueBoard users were assessed as potential predictors of the resulting subgroup structure. Results The analysis of modularity identified five main subgroups in the BlueBoard community. Registration date was found to be the largest contributor to the modularity outcome as observed by multinomial logistic regression. The addition of this variable to the final model containing all other factors improved its classification accuracy by 46.3%, that is, from 37.9% to 84.2%. Further investigation of this variable revealed that the most active and central users registered significantly earlier than the median registration time in each group. Conclusions The five subgroups resembled five generations of BlueBoard in distinct eras that transcended discussion about different mental health issues. This finding may be due to the activity of highly engaged and central users who communicate with many other users. Future research should seek to determine the generalizability of this finding and investigate the role that highly active and central users may play in the formation of this phenomenon.

Patient-reported barriers to online meetings: The case of a myeloma support group in western Kenya in the era of COVID-19.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e24036-e24036
Author(s):  
Mercy Oduor ◽  
Kelvin Manyega ◽  
Therese Lotodo ◽  
Austin Okuku ◽  
Diana Namaemba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Myeloma ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Support Group ◽  
Patient Support Group ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Group Meetings

e24036 Background: Multiple myeloma is a chronic progressive disease that calls for extended survivorship support post-diagnosis. Pre- COVID-19, the AMPATH Multiple Myeloma Program had created support groups for myeloma survivors and their caregivers that regularly met for health education, emotional support, and social opportunities. With the enforcement COVID-19 prevention and control protocols physical support group meetings became impossible. The program shifted to the online platform to sustain peer to peer support for myeloma patients and caregivers. We aim to describe challenges faced with online patient support group meetings as this has not been well documented in a resource-constrained setting. Methods: Myeloma patients and caregivers at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital were contacted and a meeting date and time agreed. Participants were briefed on how to download and operate the zoom application in preparation for online meetings. A meeting link was shared with the expected attendees and a reminder sent two days before a meeting. Support group meetings were held for different groups among them myeloma survivors and caregivers. The meeting sessions were led by healthcare professionals – hematology consultants, social workers, nutritionist and psychosocial counsellors. Peer-to-peer sessions were also held. Results: Six online meeting sessions were held between June 2020 and December 2020. A total of 199 participants were expected to join the six different meetings but a low meeting turn-out of 25.6% was experienced. Participants were later contacted to unravel the reasons for a low turn-out. A total of 129 participants were contacted of which 88 responded. Out of the 88 respondents, 29% reported a tight work schedule, 25% short time meeting alerts, 20% did not have access to smartphones, and 8% had poor internet connectivity and another 8% reported no internet data bundles to connect to the internet. Conclusions: Low attendance of online meetings was observed. Participants cited scheduling and internet access as major obstacles to attending online support group meetings. Improved access to the internet through smartphones, reliable internet connection, and affordable data are needed in underserved communities to fully unlock the benefits of virtual platforms namely cost savings and effective information sharing.

Leveraging Facebook as a Peer-Support Group for Students

2014 ◽  
pp. 195-212
Author(s):  
Joni Salminen
Keyword(s):  
Peer Support ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Technology Barriers ◽  
Peer Support Group ◽  
Teacher Needs ◽  
User Friendly

This chapter reports the use of Facebook in a Digital Marketing course in a Finnish university as a peer-support group for a course consisting of 80 marketing students. It identifies seven types of student-/teacher-generated content: (1) course-related posts, (2) substance-related posts, (3) course feedback, (4) course recommendations, (5) event posts, (6) job posts, and (7) business-related posts. It also discusses educators’ problems of using social media as a course support. For example, there is a risk of artificial communication if participation is required but motivation for posting is purely extrinsic. Commercial social networks may be useful in education because they are user-friendly, easy to adopt, and involve less friction than systems isolated from students’ day-to-day usage of the Internet. Peer support frees teachers’ time, but it needs to be devised correctly for students to participate. In practice, the teacher needs to invest time and effort in providing interesting content and guidance. More than technology, barriers of peer support relate to social issues and expertise – the students must differ in their substantive knowledge so that peer support is possible, and students must feel comfortable to ask for and provide help. Interestingly, the drop out of students in the group can be kept low even after the course by posting interesting content. In this sense, the group may demonstrate stronger ties than peer support groups that dissolve after the course.

Patterns of cannabis use among individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder: Results from an internet survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 100664
Author(s):  
Reilly R. Kayser ◽  
Meredith S. Senter ◽  
Rebecca Tobet ◽  
Marissa Raskin ◽  
Sapana Patel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder

scholarly journals An Internet support group for parents of children with neurofibromatosis type 1: a qualitative analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-334
Author(s):  
Staci Martin ◽  
Kari L. Struemph ◽  
Alyssa Poblete ◽  
Mary Anne Toledo-Tamula ◽  
Robin Lockridge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 ◽  
Neurofibromatosis Type ◽  
Internet Support Group ◽  
Internet Support
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