Health Goal Attainment of Patients With Chronic Diseases in Web-Based Patient Communities: Content and Survival Analysis

Abstract

Background Activities directed at attaining health goals are a major part of the daily lives of those fighting chronic diseases. A proliferating population of patients with chronic diseases are participating in web-based patient communities, wherein they can exchange health information and pursue health goals with others virtually. Objective In this study, we aimed to understand the effect of participation in social media–enabled web-based patient communities on health goal attainment. In particular, we studied the antecedents of health goal attainment in terms of social support and self-reflection in web-based patient communities. Methods This data set consists of web-based health management activities of 392 patients across 13 health support groups, that is, groups with medical issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and breast cancer; the data of the activities were collected from a leading web-based patient community. Content analysis was used to code the social interactions among the patients on the web-based platform. Cox regression for survival analysis was used to model the hazard ratio of health goal attainment. Results Our analysis indicated that emotional support from web-based patient communities can increase patients’ probability of achieving their goals (hazard ratio 1.957, 95% CI 1.416-2.706; P<.001) while informational support does not appear to be effective (P=.06). In addition, health-related self-reflection increases the patients’ likelihood of goal attainment through web-based patient communities (hazard ratio 1.937, 95% CI 1.318-2.848; P<.001), but leisure-oriented self-reflection reduces this likelihood (hazard ratio 0.588, 95% CI 0.442-0.784; P<.001). Conclusions Social media–enabled web-based platforms assist health goal management via both social interaction and personal discipline. This study extends the understanding of web-based patient communities by investigating the effects of both social and cognitive factors on goal attainment. In particular, our study advocates that health goals relating to chronic conditions can be better managed when patients use the facilities of web-based health communities strategically.

Social Media Use for Health Purposes: Systematic Review

“…Social media enables users to track and share their health statuses or activities and view those of others in the community. The public can document and share their illness experiences such as a breast cancer journey [125] or experience with chronic disease [126], achievements in health behavior change [127], and fitness activities [128] such as cycling and walking [129]. By self-tracking and sharing their physical activities, users can build networks with other users and discuss their activity performances [129].…”

“…By self-tracking and sharing their physical activities, users can build networks with other users and discuss their activity performances [129]. Writing about and sharing their illness experiences may help patients cope with illness [125] and achieve health goals [126]. Other users may also benefit from such sharing as they can easily find peers who have similar experience to get advice on lifestyle changes and discuss treatment options [130].…”

Enhancing supply chain sensing capability through social media: an environmental scanning perspective

“…When discussing IT in general, existing research perceives technologies as development-enabling tools (Li et al , 2009). Recently, however, we have begun witnessing different disruptive technologies transforming a number of aspects of human society, such as mobile banking (Gupta, 2013) and online health systems (Song et al , 2021). Due to the significant results from this study, we argue that social media have started to change how supply chain practitioners handle certain routines.…”

Unconscious or conscious? The impacts of habit and social support receipt on older adults' continued participation in online health communities

“…Direct emotional support can make users feel cared for (Sharma and Khadka, 2019), build users' confidence in self-care (Li and Yan, 2020) and help users get rid of the uncertainty in diabetes self-management (Delaney and Basinger, 2021). In a word, direct emotional support receipt can help users maintain a good emotional state and then increase their chances of attaining their health goals (Song et al. , 2020).…”

“…Direct emotional support can make users feel cared for (Sharma and Khadka, 2019), build users' confidence in self-care (Li and Yan, 2020) and help users get rid of the uncertainty in diabetes self-management (Delaney and Basinger, 2021). In a word, direct emotional support receipt can help users maintain a good emotional state and then increase their chances of attaining their health goals (Song et al, 2020). As for the indirect emotional support, users who are exposed to a lot of emotional support provided for others may feel comfortable and relaxed and think that they are situated in a loving and friendly OHC.…”