Skousen Tanner, Safadi Hani, Young Colleen, Karahanna Elena, Safadi Sami, Chebib Fouad
Management Information Systems, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 Mar 17;22(3):e15983. doi: 10.2196/15983.
Online patient communities are becoming more prevalent as a resource to help patients take control of their health. However, online patient communities experience challenges that require active moderation.
This study aimed to identify the challenges of sustaining a thriving online patient community and the moderation practices employed to address the challenges and manage the online patient community successfully.
An inductive case study of Mayo Clinic Connect was analyzed using the grounded theory methodology. Insights for the analysis were obtained from semistructured interviews with community managers and community members. Secondary data sources, such as community management documents, observational meeting notes, and community postings, were used to validate and triangulate the findings.
We identified four challenges unique to online patient communities. These challenges include passion, nonmedical advice, personal information, and community participation. We identified five categories of practices that community members used to address these challenges and moderate the community successfully. These practices include instructive, semantic, connective, administrative, and policing practices.
Successful moderation in online patient communities requires a multitude of practices to manage the challenges that arise in these communities. Some practices are implemented as preventive measures while other practices are more interventive. Additionally, practices can come from both authority figures and exemplary members.
在线患者社区作为一种帮助患者掌控自身健康的资源正变得越来越普遍。然而，在线患者社区面临着需要积极管理的挑战。
本研究旨在确定维持一个繁荣的在线患者社区所面临的挑战以及为应对这些挑战并成功管理在线患者社区而采用的管理措施。
采用扎根理论方法对梅奥诊所连接（Mayo Clinic Connect）进行归纳性案例研究。分析的见解来自对社区管理人员和社区成员的半结构化访谈。使用二级数据源，如社区管理文件、观察会议记录和社区帖子，来验证和三角互证研究结果。
我们确定了在线患者社区特有的四个挑战。这些挑战包括热情、非医疗建议、个人信息和社区参与。我们确定了社区成员用来应对这些挑战并成功管理社区的五类措施。这些措施包括指导性、语义性、连接性、管理性和监管性措施。
在线患者社区的成功管理需要多种措施来应对这些社区中出现的挑战。一些措施作为预防措施实施，而其他措施则更具干预性。此外，措施可以来自权威人士和模范成员。
