Willis Erin
a Department of Journalism , University of Memphis.
Health Commun. 2016;31(3):299-307. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2014.950019. Epub 2015 Sep 1.
In order to combat the growing burden of chronic disease, evidence-based self-management programs have been designed to teach patients about the disease and its affect on their lives. Self-efficacy is a key component in chronic disease self-management. This research used online ethnography and discourse analysis (N = 8,231) to examine self-efficacy within the computer-mediated communication (CMC) of four online health communities used by people with arthritis. Specifically, online opinion leaders were identified for examination. Across the four communities, there was a cyclical process that involved "disease veterans" sharing their experiences and gaining credibility within the community, new(er) members suffering from disease symptoms and sharing their experiences online, and finally, asking others for help with arthritis self-management behaviors. Three themes follow: (1) sharing disease experience, (2) suffering from disease symptoms, and (3) asking for help. Practical implications for health promotion and education are discussed.
为应对日益加重的慢性病负担，已设计出循证自我管理项目，以教导患者了解疾病及其对生活的影响。自我效能感是慢性病自我管理的关键要素。本研究采用在线人种志和话语分析（N = 8231），以考察关节炎患者使用的四个在线健康社区的计算机介导沟通（CMC）中的自我效能感。具体而言，确定了在线意见领袖进行考察。在这四个社区中，存在一个循环过程，即“疾病老手”分享他们的经验并在社区内获得可信度，新（或较新）成员遭受疾病症状困扰并在网上分享他们的经验，最后，向他人寻求关节炎自我管理行为方面的帮助。以下是三个主题：（1）分享疾病经历，（2）遭受疾病症状困扰，（3）寻求帮助。讨论了对健康促进和教育的实际意义。
