Document Detail


'They all supported me but I felt like I suddenly didn't belong anymore': an exploration of perceived disadvantages to online support seeking.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20718585     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
In recent years, there has been a significant rise in the number of online support communities dedicated to issues surrounding infertility. The aim of this study was to focus on investigating the perceived disadvantages of online infertility support communities from the perspective of those who access and participate in them. A total of 295 participants completed an online questionnaire about their use of online support communities. Responses were analysed using inductive content analysis. Since the majority of respondents were women, the results of the study largely reflect the experiences of the female population. Over half of the sample (57.9%) reported experiencing disadvantages to online support. Content analysis revealed that the most commonly cited disadvantages were reading about negative experiences (10.9%), reading about other peoples pregnancies (8.8%), inaccurate information (7.8%) and its addictive (5.8%). These results suggest that there are many perceived disadvantages to online infertility support communities. While some of these disadvantages reflect fears commonly cited in the literature, there are also unique disadvantages associated with the experience of infertility and its treatment. The study highlights a number of important areas in which health professionals and community moderators could intervene to better support and improve the online experiences of patients experiencing infertility.
Authors:
Sumaira Malik; Neil S Coulson
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology     Volume:  31     ISSN:  1743-8942     ISO Abbreviation:  J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol     Publication Date:  2010 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-08-19     Completed Date:  2010-11-30     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8308648     Medline TA:  J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  140-9     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Institute of Work, Health & Organisations, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG8 1BB, UK. lwxsm5@nottingham.ac.uk
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Chi-Square Distribution
Emotions
Female
Humans
Infertility, Female / psychology*
Internet*
Perception
Questionnaires
Self-Help Groups*
Social Support*
Statistics, Nonparametric

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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