Communication strategies for older people in online health communities. The context of self-care

Abstract

In a study based on biographical interviews with elderly people from rural areas (n = 30, Leningrad region) the roles and scenarios of using online communities of diseases are considered. Focusing on how the accumulation of knowledge about the treatment of diseases occurs in online communities, the work explores the communication and interactions of older people in online communities.Modern healthcare and the system of medical care are increasingly based on neoliberal principles. One of the ways to integrate illiberal methods of treating diseases is to create online disease communities where patients can get the necessary help from doctors and communicate with other patients, exchange experiences and receive advice on prescribing necessary medications. However, such communities are not accessible to everyone, and, consequently, there are difficulties with access to such a format for obtaining knowledge on the treatment of diseases in elderly patients, as well as in those patients who do not have access to the Internet. For elderly people with chronic diseases, such communities can serve as communities for communication, that is, those communities where communication is possible, which is often lacking for elderly people living in peripheral settlements. On the other hand, the importance of such communities is determined by the fact that it is often difficult for an elderly person in peripheral settlements due to remoteness to get the necessary advice or recommendation from a doctor, and communication in online communities and medical forums contributes to obtaining such advice, which is important in the treatment of the disease.In addition, participation in online health communities is useful for adapting to everyday life with a chronic disease and is defined as promoting the ability of patients to integrate into everyday life and society. On the other hand, in this study we focus on studying how the creation of knowledge about the treatment of diseases occurs within the framework of the participation of older people in online communities. Social communication, supported by online communities, facilitates the exchange of knowledge between elderly people with chronic diseases. This study contributes to the study of the possibilities and limitations of online communities in the context of living with chronic diseases of elderly people in rural areas.