Chronic disease is an epidemic, one that requires patients to play an active role in managing symptoms and disease affect. This study used ethnomethodology (N = 8231) to understand how patients with arthritis use online health communities to exchange disease-related information to better manage their chronic disease. The findings show that online health communities facilitate self-management behaviors through the exchange of health information and disease experience. These online health communities act as self-management programs led by peers with the same chronic disease through the exchange of health information based on experience, working to improve members’ health literacy related to arthritis.
American Medical Association Ad Hoc Committee on Health Literacy for the Council on Scientific Affairs (1999) Health literacy: Report on the council on scientific affairs. JAMA281: 552–557.
2.
ApgarM (1983) Ethnography and cognition. In: EmersonRM (ed.) Contemporary Field Research: A Collection of Readings. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland, pp. 68–77.
3.
AtkinsonP (1988) Ethnomethodology: A critical review. Annual Review of Sociology14: 441–465.
4.
BanduraA (1977) Social Learning Theory. NJ: Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA
5.
BowersL (1992a) Ethnomethodology I: An approach to nursing research. International Journal of Nursing Studies29(1): 59–67.
6.
BowersL (1992b) Ethnomethodology II: A study of the community psychiatric nurse in the patient’s home. International Journal of Nursing Studies29(1): 69–79.
7.
BradyTJMurphyLO’ColmainBJ, et al. (2013) A meta-analysis of health status, health behaviors, and health care utilization outcomes of the chronic disease self-management program. Preventing Chronic Disease10. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2013/pdf/12_0112.pdf
8.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2010) Healthy people 2010. Available at: http://www.healthypeople.gov/
ClineRJWHaynesKM (2001) Consumer health information seeking on the Internet: The state of the art. Health Education Research16(6): 671–692.
11.
CoulsonNSBuchananHAubeeluckA (2007) Social support in cyberspace: A content analysis of communication within a Huntington’s Disease online support group. Patient Education and Counseling68(2): 173–178.
12.
DixonKEKeefeFJScipioCD. (2007) Psychological interventions for arthritis pain management in adults: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology26(3): 241–250.
13.
DowlingM (2007) Ethnomethodology: Time for a revisit? A discussion paper. International Journal of Nursing Studies44(5): 826–833.
ElwellLGroganSCoulsonN (2011) Adolescents living with cancer: The role of computer-mediated support groups. Journal of Health Psychology16(2): 236–248.
16.
EysenbachGPowellJEnglesakisM. (2004) Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: Systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions. British Medical Journal328: 1166.
FrankAW (2013) From sick role to practices of health and illness. Medical Education47(1): 18–25.
19.
FrostJHMassagliMP (2008) Social uses of personal health information within PatientsLikeMe, an online patient community: What can happen when patients have access to one another’s data. Journal of Medical Internet Research10(3): e15.
20.
GeertzC (1973)Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. In: GeertzC (ed.) The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books, pp. 3–30.
21.
HavePT (1995) Medical ethnomethodology: An overview. Human Studies18: 245–261.
22.
HerringSC (2004) Computer-mediated discourse analysis: An approach to researching online behavior. In: BarabSAKlingR (eds) Designing for Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 338–376.
23.
HolmanHLorigK (2004) Patient self-management: A key to effectiveness and efficiency in care of chronic disease. Public Health Reports119: 239–244.
24.
HwangKOOttenbacherAJLuckeJF. (2011) Measuring social support for weight loss in an Internet weight loss community. Journal of Health Communication16(2): 198–211.
25.
JonesFR (2003) Can expert patients be created? In: Perspectives on the expert patients. Presentations from a seminar held at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britian. May
26.
KontosEZBennettGGViswanathK (2007) Barriers and facilitators of home computer and Internet use among urban novice computer users of low socioeconomic position. Journal of Medical Internet Research9(4): e31.
27.
KrepsGLNeuhauserL (2010) New directions in eHealth communication: Opportunities and challenges. Patient Education and Counseling78(3): 329–336.
28.
KutnerMGreenbergEJinY. (2006) The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, US Department of Education.
29.
LewisT (2006) Seeking health information on the Internet: Lifestyle choice or bad attack of cyberchondria?Media, Culture, & Society28(4): 521–539.
30.
LorigKHolmanH (2003) Self-management education: History, definition, outcome, and mechanisms. Annals of Behavioral Medicine26(1): 1–7.
31.
LorigKLubeckDKrainesG. (1985) Outcomes of self-help education for patients with arthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatism28(6): 680–685.
32.
LorigKRitterPStewartA. (2001) Chronic disease self-management program: 2-year health status and health care utilization outcomes. Medical Care39(11): 1217–1223.
33.
MorseJMFieldPA (1995) Research Methods for Health Professionals. 2nd ed.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
34.
NeuhauserLKrepsGL (2003) Rethinking communication in the e-health era. Journal of Health Psychology8(1): 7–23.
35.
NeuhauserLKrepsGL (2003) Rethinking communication in the e-health era. Journal of Health Psychology8(7): 7–23.
36.
ParkerJCSmarrKSlaughterJR. (2003) Management of depression in rheumatoid arthritis: A combined pharmacologic and cognitive-behavioral approach. Arthritis and Rheumatism49: 766–777.
PhoenixKHMCoulsonNS (2010) Living with HIV/AIDS and use of online support groups. Journal of Health Psychology15(3): 339–350.
39.
PreeceJMaloney-KrichmarD (2005) Online communities: Design, theory, and practice. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication10(4), article 1.
40.
RatzanSParkerR (2006) Health literacy—Identification and response. Journal of Health Communication11(8): 713–715.
41.
RatzanSC (2001) Health literacy: Communication for the public good. Health Promotion International16(2): 207–214.
42.
RheingoldH (1993) The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
43.
RidingsCMGefenD (2004) Virtual community attraction: Why people hang out online. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication10(1).
44.
RodgersSChenQ (2005) Internet community group participation: Psychosocial benefits for women with breast cancer. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication10(4): article 5. Available at: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue4/rodgers.html
45.
SillenceEBriggsPHarrisPR. (2007) How do patients evaluate and make use of online health information. Social Science & Medicine64(9): 1853–1862.
46.
SmithDHudsonS (2012) Using the person-environment-occupational performance conceptual model as an analyzing framework for health literacy. Journal of Communication in Healthcare5(1): 3–13.
47.
SperosC (2005) Health literacy: Concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing50(6): 633–640.
48.
StraussACorbinJ (1997) Grounded Theory in Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
49.
SullivanCF (2003) Gendered cybersupport: A thematic analysis of two online cancer support groups. Journal of Health Psychology8(1): 83–104.
WrightKBellSB (2003) Health-related support groups on the Internet: Linking empirical findings to social support and computer-mediated communication theory. Journal of Health Psychology8(1): 39–54.
55.
ZarcadoolasCPleasantAGreerDS (2005) Understanding health literacy: An expanded model. Health Promotion International20(2): 195–203.
56.
ZautraAJBurlesonMHSmithCA. (1995) Arthritis and perceptions of quality of life: An examination of positive and negative affect in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Health Psychology14(5): 399–408.
57.
ZimmermanDH (1978) Ethnomethodology. The American Sociologist13(1): 6–15.
