IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v162y2016icp151-157.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“You get to know the people and whether they’re talking sense or not”: Negotiating trust on health-related forums

Author

Listed:
  • Brady, Ellen
  • Segar, Julia
  • Sanders, Caroline

Abstract

The internet is increasingly being used as a source of health advice and information by individuals with long term conditions (LTCs). Specifically, online forums allow people to interact with others with similar conditions. However, it is not clear how online health information is assessed by those with LTCs. This study aims to address this gap by exploring how individuals with contested and uncontested LTCs utilise internet forums. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants with ME/CFS and 21 participants with type 1 and 2 diabetes and analysed using thematic analysis. Participants were recruited via online and offline routes, namely forums, email lists, newsletters, and face-to-face support groups. The findings indicate that the use of online forums was a complex and nuanced process and was influenced by a number of individual and illness-specific factors. Participants trusted those with similar experiences and perspectives as themselves, while also valuing conventional biomedical information and advice. By accessing support online, forum users were able to draw on a personalised form of support based on the lived experiences of their peers. However, the role of digital literacy in developing and maintaining online relationships must be acknowledged.

Suggested Citation

  • Brady, Ellen & Segar, Julia & Sanders, Caroline, 2016. "“You get to know the people and whether they’re talking sense or not”: Negotiating trust on health-related forums," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 151-157.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:162:y:2016:i:c:p:151-157
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.06.029
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953616303136
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.06.029?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cotten, Shelia R & Gupta, Sipi S, 2004. "Characteristics of online and offline health information seekers and factors that discriminate between them," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(9), pages 1795-1806, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Menon, Alka V., 2017. "Do online reviews diminish physician authority? The case of cosmetic surgery in the U.S," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 1-8.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schmidt, Henrike & Wild, Eva-Maria & Schreyögg, Jonas, 2021. "Explaining variation in health information seeking behaviour – Insights from a multilingual survey," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(5), pages 618-626.
    2. Kontos, Emily Z. & Emmons, Karen M. & Puleo, Elaine & Viswanath, K., 2011. "Determinants and beliefs of health information mavens among a lower-socioeconomic position and minority population," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 22-32, July.
    3. Letizia Lo Presti & Mario Testa & Vittoria Marino & Pierpaolo Singer, 2019. "Engagement in Healthcare Systems: Adopting Digital Tools for a Sustainable Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Shabana Asgher & Dr. Noshina Saleem & Dr. Asifa Kamal & Dr. Hanan Ahmad, 2021. "Knowledge Gap and Digital Media: Effect of Socio Demographics and eHealth literacy on Perceived Trust in Online Health Information among Female Users," Journal of Media & Communication (JMC), Ilma University, Faculty of Media & Design, vol. 1(2), pages 184-203.
    5. Lili Li & Yiwu Zeng & Zhonggen Zhang & Changluan Fu, 2020. "The Impact of Internet Use on Health Outcomes of Rural Adults: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-14, September.
    6. Li, LiLi & Zeng, Yiwu & Zhang, Zhonggen, 2020. "Impact of Internet use on Health outcomes of Rural Residents: Evidence from China," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304177, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Imran Khan & Guo Xitong & Zeeshan Ahmad & Fakhar Shahzad, 2019. "Investigating Factors Impelling the Adoption of e-Health: A Perspective of African Expats in China," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, July.
    8. Meryem Zoghlami & Salma Ayeb & Kaouther Saied Ben Rached, 2020. "The Moderating Effect of Empowerment in the Relationship Internet Use in Health and Shared Decision-making between Patient and Doctor," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 10(1), pages 11-18.
    9. Chankrajang, Thanyaporn & Muttarak, Raya, 2017. "Green Returns to Education: Does Schooling Contribute to Pro-Environmental Behaviours? Evidence from Thailand," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 434-448.
    10. Zhao, Shanyang, 2009. "Parental education and children's online health information seeking: Beyond the digital divide debate," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 1501-1505, November.
    11. Roman Hoffmann & Daniela Blecha, 2020. "Education and Disaster Vulnerability in Southeast Asia: Evidence and Policy Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-17, February.
    12. Eun Kyoung Yun & Hyeoun‐Ae Park, 2010. "Consumers’ disease information–seeking behaviour on the Internet in Korea," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(19‐20), pages 2860-2868, October.
    13. Bin Xie & David M. Dilts & Mikhael Shor, 2006. "The physician–patient relationship: the impact of patient‐obtained medical information," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(8), pages 813-833, August.
    14. Rudisill, Caroline & Costa-Font, Joan & Mossialos, Elias, 2012. "Behavioral adjustment to avian flu in Europe during spring 2006: The roles of knowledge and proximity to risk," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(8), pages 1362-1371.
    15. Hoffmann, Roman & Muttarak, Raya, 2017. "Learn from the Past, Prepare for the Future: Impacts of Education and Experience on Disaster Preparedness in the Philippines and Thailand," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 32-51.
    16. Man Ping Wang & Kasisomayajula Viswanath & Tai Hing Lam & Xin Wang & Sophia S Chan, 2013. "Social Determinants of Health Information Seeking among Chinese Adults in Hong Kong," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(8), pages 1-7, August.
    17. Dong, Gang Nathan, 2016. "Social capital as correlate, antecedent, and consequence of health service demand in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 85-96.
    18. Li, Yibai & Wang, Xuequn & Lin, Xiaolin & Hajli, Mohammad, 2018. "Seeking and sharing health information on social media: A net valence model and cross-cultural comparison," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 28-40.
    19. Joan Costa-Font & Elias Mossialos & Caroline Rudisill, 2009. "When is the Internet a valued communication device for health information in Europe?," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(5), pages 429-445.
    20. James Prieger, 2015. "The broadband digital divide and the benefits of mobile broadband for minorities," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 13(3), pages 373-400, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:162:y:2016:i:c:p:151-157. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.