Quitting is not an option: An analysis of online diet talk between celiac disease patients

Abstract

This is an empirical study of the way in which celiac disease patients manage the risk of gluten intake in their everyday life.The article examines naturally occurring conversational data in order to study how patients cope interactionally with constantly being at risk in their day-to-day living. They reject quitting the diet as a valid option, and instead construct a 'diet world' in which dietary transgression is presented as an integrated part of everyday life. In this way, patients can manage occasional diet lapses without putting the validity of the diet itself at stake. By examining how the gluten-free diet is treated in interaction, we find out more about the pre-existing everyday strategies that have to be taken into account when new therapies are being introduced.

Applying discursive approaches to health psychology.

“…Notions of individuality are variously drawn upon by participants as a discursive device in order to account for their decision making regarding adherence to health advice. Furthermore, instances in data that might initially be construed as individual agency, such as the self-reference of "I quit" in Veen and te Molder's (2010) study, is not simply viewed as an instance of individual agency, rather their sequential analysis highlights how dietary compliance is attended to as a communal activity. Discursive research is in a good position to illustrate the point raised by WHO (2000) in relation to obesity, that dieting should be treated as a population based problem and not an individual responsibility.…”

“…Studies of naturalistic talk such as online forums allow us to examine the way that patients' manage such practical issues associated with diets. For instance, Veen and te Molder (2010) examined how patients with Celiac disease manage the risk of gluten intake. Following one thread initiated by a member whose subject title was "I want to quit" they found that other members rejected this as an option.…”

The Functions of Narrative Passages in Three Written Online Health Contexts

“…These studies have shown that narratives can be used to give advice in a mitigated way, to express support and highlight common ground, to criticize behavior of other participants or to warrant previously made claims (e.g. Armstrong et al 2011;Harrison and Barlow 2009;Kouper 2010;Page 2012;Richardson 2003;Rudolf von Rohr 2015;Sillence 2010;Veen et al 2010). Several studies have indicated how narratives can be used to construct identities, for example as experts, novices, or communities.…”

Bodybuilders’ accounts of synthol use: The construction of lay expertise online

“…Similarly to Sequence 1, by drawing on his own experience and knowledge R2 provides support and so constructs a second story (Veen et al, 2010). That is, the alignment of a second response to the original response (Sacks, 1992).…”

“…By drawing on their own knowledge they are able to provide support for this novice; they are constructing second stories where the response is aligned to the original post (Veen et al, 2010;Sacks, 1992). Second stories work to normalise group views by displaying an understanding and stance towards the initial story (Arminen, 2004).…”