Nurturing health-related online support groups:exploring the experience of patient moderators

The aim of this study was to examine the views of moderators across a diverse and geographically broad range of online support groups about their moderator experiences and to explore both the personal benefits as well as challenges involved. Thirty-three patient moderators completed an online questionnaire which included a series of open-ended questions. Thematic analysis identified three themes: emergence, empowerment, nurturing. Several moderators declared their own diagnosis and for some, being able to share personal insights motivated them to establish the group and in turn offered validation. They felt empowered by helping others and learned more about the condition through accessing the "communal brain". Some felt the group aided patients' access to health services and their ability to communicate with health professionals while others worried about them becoming over-dependent. Moderators described needing to nurture their group to ensure it offered a safe space for members. Clear rules of engagement, trust, organisation skills, compassion and kindness were considered essential. Patient moderated online support groups can be successfully developed and facilitated and can be empowering for both the group member and moderator alike.© 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Online information seeking by patients with bipolar disorder:results from an international multisite survey

Background: Information seeking is an important coping mechanism for dealing with chronic illness. Despite a growing number of mental health websites, there is little understanding of how patients with bipolar disorder use the Internet to seek information. Methods: A 39 question, paper-based, anonymous survey, translated into 12 languages, was completed by 1222 patients in 17 countries as a convenience sample between March 2014 and January 2016. All patients had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder from a psychiatrist. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equations to account for correlated data. Results: 976 (81 % of 1212 valid responses) of the patients used the Internet, and of these 750 (77 %) looked for information on bipolar disorder. When looking online for information, 89 % used a computer rather than a smartphone, and 79 % started with a general search engine. The primary reasons for searching were drug side effects (51 %), to learn anonymously (43 %), and for help coping (39 %). About 1/3 rated their search skills as expert, and 2/3 as basic or intermediate. 59 % preferred a website on mental illness and 33 % preferred Wikipedia. Only 20 % read or participated in online support groups. Most patients (62 %) searched a couple times a year. Online information seeking helped about 2/3 to cope (41 % of the entire sample). About 2/3 did not discuss Internet findings with their doctor. Conclusion: Online information seeking helps many patients to cope although alternative information sources remain important. Most patients do not discuss Internet findings with their doctor, and concern remains about the quality of online information especially related to prescription drugs. Patients may not rate search skills accurately, and may not understand limitations of online privacy. More patient education about online information searching is needed and physicians should recommend a few high quality websites.

An assessment of the learning benefits of using a web-based learning environment when teaching accounting

The impact and use of information and communication technology on learning outcomes for accounting students is not well understood. This study investigates the impact of design features of Blackboard 1 used as aWeb-based Learning Environment (WBLE) in teaching undergraduate accounting students. Specifically, this investigation reports on a number of Blackboard design features (e.g. delivery of lecture notes, announcements, online assessment and model answers) used to deliver learning materials regarded as necessary to enhance learning outcomes. Responses from 369 on-campus students provided data to develop a regression model that seeks to explain enhanced participation and mental effort. The final regression shows that student satisfaction with the use of a WBLE is associated with five design features or variables. These include usefulness and availability of lecture notes, online assessment, model answers, and online chat.

Online interviewing in psychology: reflections on the process

The internet is used across a range of disciplines to conduct qualitative research and qualitative psychologists are increasingly turning to the internet as a medium for conducting interviews. In this article we explore the first author’s experience of conducting synchronous online interviews using instant messaging or ‘chat’ software. We highlight the costs and benefits of conducting online interviews and reflect on the development of a rapport with participants within this medium. In particular, we consider how researchers can attempt to make online interviewing less abrupt and more conversational, how researchers can demonstrate ‘listening’ and how insider/outsider status of the interviewer effects interaction within online interviews.

Chronic illness in non-heterosexual contexts: an online survey of experiences

In this article we contribute to the expansion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) health psychology beyond the confines of sexual health by examining the experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual people living with non-HIV related chronic illness. Using a (predominantly) qualitative online survey, the perspectives of 190 LGB people with 52 different chronic illnesses from eight countries were collected. The five most commonly reported physical conditions were arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, asthma and chronic fatigue syndrome. Our analysis focuses on four themes within participants’ written comments: (1) ableism within LGBT communities; (2) isolation from LGBT communities and other LGB people living with chronic illness; (3)heteronormativity within sources of information and support and; (4) homophobia from healthcare professionals. We conclude by suggesting that LGBTQ psychology could usefully draw on critical health psychology principles and frameworks to explore non-heterosexual’s lived experiences of chronic illness, and also that there remains a need for specifically targeted support groups and services for LGB people with chronic illnesses.

Greening operations management:an online sustainable procurement course for practitioners

In the Operations Management field, sustainable procurement has emerged as a way to green the purchasing and supply process. This paper explores issues in sustainable procurement training. The authors formed an interdisciplinary team to design, deliver and evaluate a training programme to promote and develop sustainable procurement in the United Kingdom health sector. Particular features of the project were its engagement with evolving and contested understandings of sustainable procurement and of the underlying concept of sustainable development and its recognition that relevant knowledge in the field is both incomplete and widely diffused through the procurement community. Eight practitioner groups worked together on themes to develop their understanding of sustainable procurement using the Blackboard virtual learning environment. Group interviews were conducted upon completion of the course and again three months later to explore qualitatively participants' experience of learning and implementing sustainable procurement. Although the course was delivered to practitioners, it might be modified for undergraduate and graduate students as it comprised the use of online activities in virtual learning environments, case studies and a broad range of literature. The course was also particularly significant in the context of contemporary policy moves in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to promote the role of higher education institutions in delivering workplace-based, high-skills education consistent with strategic policy considerations (see, for example, DIUS, 2008).

Social control in online communities of consumption:a framework for community management

Online communities of consumption (OCCs) represent highly diverse groups of consumers whose interests are not always aligned. Social control in OCCs aims to effectively manage problems arising from this heterogeneity. Extant literature on social control in OCCs is fragmented as some studies focus on the principles of social control, while others focus on the implementation. Moreover, the domain is undertheorized. This article integrates the disparate literature on social control in OCCs providing a first unified conceptualization of the topic. The authors conceptualize social control as a system, or configuration, of moderation practices. Moderation practices are executed during interactions operating under different governance structures (market, hierarchy, and clan) and serving different purposes (interaction initiation, maintenance, and termination). From this conceptualization, important areas of future research emerge and research questions are developed. The framework also serves as a community management tool for OCC managers, enabling the diagnosis of social control problems and the elaboration of strategies and tactics to address them.

The challenges of developing an online tool to measure the quality of the passenger experience in a PanEuropean context

METPEX is a 3 year, FP7 project which aims to develop a PanEuropean tool to measure the quality of the passenger's experience of multimodal transport. Initial work has led to the development of a comprehensive set of variables relating to different passenger groups, forms of transport and journey stages. This paper addresses the main challenges in transforming the variables into usable, accessible computer based tools allowing for the real time collection of information, across multiple journey stages in different EU countries. Non-computer based measurement instruments will be used to gather information from those who may not have or be familiar with mobile technology. Smartphone-based measurement instruments will also be used, hosted in two applications. The mobile applications need to be easy to use, configurable and adaptable according to the context of use. They should also be inherently interesting and rewarding for the participant, whilst allowing for the collection of high quality, valid and reliable data from all journey types and stages (from planning, through to entry into and egress from different transport modes, travel on public and personal vehicles and support of active forms of transport (e.g. cycling and walking). During all phases of the data collection and processing, the privacy of the participant is highly regarded and is ensured. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.

Leveraging product adopter information from online reviews for product recommendation

The availability of the sheer volume of online product reviews makes it possible to derive implicit demographic information of product adopters from review documents. This paper proposes a novel approach to the extraction of product adopter mentions from online reviews. The extracted product adopters are the ncategorise into a number of different demographic user groups. The aggregated demographic information of many product adopters can be used to characterize both products and users, which can be incorporated into a recommendation method using weighted regularised matrix factorisation. Our experimental results on over 15 million reviews crawled from JINGDONG, the largest B2C e-commerce website in China, show the feasibility and effectiveness of our proposed frame work for product recommendation.