The introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) into the patient-doctor relationship represents a significant change in modern health care. Communication via computers-e-mediated communication-is affecting the context of patient-doctor interaction, touching core elements of the relationship. Based on data from a qualitative study conducted among Norwegian patients who had used ICT to communicate with their doctors, the authors argue that patients' use of ICT and the element of trust in the patient-doctor relationship influence each other. Furthermore, they contend that patients' constructions of trust in this relationship can be understood in light of basic mechanisms in modern society. The study sheds light on some potential concerns and benefits as communication technology increasingly is integrated into the patient-doctor relationship.

Although a considerable body of research has described the implications of parental mental illness, the perspectives of children and adolescents have rarely been addressed. In this article, I explore adolescents' experiences in everyday life, based on an action-oriented study of a Norwegian online self-help group for adolescents (aged 15 to 18) with mentally ill parents. The analysis was conducted through participant observation of the group for 2 years. The adolescents experienced a variety of difficult challenges related to their parent's mental illness: lack of information and openness; unpredictability and instability; fear; loneliness; and loss and sorrow. However, they also discussed strategies for active management of the challenges arising from the family situation. I argue that these adolescents can be understood as vulnerable as well as active participants in managing their everyday lives. I emphasize the importance of including perspectives of children and adolescents in further research so as to improve health care for families with parental mental illness.

Although implications of parental mental illness are well documented, most children of mentally ill parents are left to manage their family situation with limited information and support. We explored the role of a Norwegian online self-help group for adolescents (aged 15 to 18) with a mentally ill parent. Through in-depth interviews with 13 participants, we found that the online self-help group provided "communal normalization" by which participants, through communication in the forum, made sense of everyday experiences and emotions arising from having a mentally ill parent. We identified three main aspects of this process-recognizability, openness, and agency-all of which were important for the adolescents' efforts to obtain support, to be supportive, and to handle everyday life situations better. Communal normalization might provide resources for significantly improving the participants' life situations, and could demonstrate similar potential for users in other situations characterized by stigma, loneliness, silence, and health worries.

This article aims to provide more insight into advantages and challenges of conducting action research with the intention to improve health care. Action research is distinctive in the sense that the researcher has a dual role as both researcher and implementer of the program studied.The article is based on two Norwegian action oriented studies that aimed to explore the potential role of online self-help groups for breast cancer patients and adolescents with mentally ill parents respectively. We argue that action research can contribute both to the generation of knowledge, as well as a greater sense of ownership to the program among those who are intended to use it. Nonetheless, a potential conflict between the researcher's pursuit of data, and ethical considerations became apparent in the contexts studied here. Bearing these challenges in mind, we still conclude that action research offers an important contribution for the further development of health care services.Word count abstract: 152