Donelle L, Hoffman-Goetz L
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Inform Health Soc Care. 2009 Jan;34(1):59-72. doi: 10.1080/17538150902779535.
Cancer is primarily a chronic disease of older adults that must be managed and incorporated into everyday activities. Online sites are important sources of health care information and support. Health literacy is necessary for full utilisation of online resources. The objective of this study was to examine and compare cancer related conversations in online forums hosted by Canadian and American associations for retired persons. A content analysis was used to evaluate archived cancer conversations of general-health online forums representing two leading North American associations for retired persons. There were 125/1817 (6.8%) Canadians and 70/892 (7.8%) US cancer discussions among participants in 2006. Online conversations were grouped into three categories: request for information, provision of information and sharing of information. Important subthemes included cancer prevention and screening, treatment and cancer care and health system issues. There were significantly more posts about provision of cancer information from the Canadian compared with the US site (p = 0.023). American more than Canadian conversations emphasised the health system concerns as determinants of cancer care practices. Online discussion forums hosted by retirement associations may serve as an important channel in information dissemination about cancer prevention and screening, treatment and care support and health care advice for seniors.
癌症主要是一种老年人的慢性病，必须加以管理并融入日常活动。在线网站是医疗保健信息和支持的重要来源。具备健康素养对于充分利用在线资源至关重要。本研究的目的是考察和比较加拿大和美国退休人员协会主办的在线论坛中与癌症相关的对话。采用内容分析法评估代表北美两个主要退休人员协会的综合健康在线论坛中存档的癌症对话。2006年参与者中，有125/1817（6.8%）名加拿大人和70/892（7.8%）名美国人参与了癌症讨论。在线对话分为三类：信息请求、信息提供和信息分享。重要的子主题包括癌症预防与筛查、治疗与癌症护理以及卫生系统问题。与美国网站相比，加拿大网站上关于提供癌症信息的帖子明显更多（p = 0.023）。与加拿大对话相比，美国对话更强调将卫生系统问题作为癌症护理实践的决定因素。退休人员协会主办的在线讨论论坛可能是传播有关癌症预防与筛查、治疗与护理支持以及老年人医疗保健建议信息的重要渠道。
