title: The making of expert patients: the role of online health communities in arthritis self-management.
abstract: Chronic disease is an epidemic, one that requires patients to play an active role in managing symptoms and disease affect. This study used ethnomethodology (N = 8231) to understand how patients with arthritis use online health communities to exchange disease-related information to better manage their chronic disease. The findings show that online health communities facilitate self-management behaviors through the exchange of health information and disease experience. These online health communities act as self-management programs led by peers with the same chronic disease through the exchange of health information based on experience, working to improve members' health literacy related to arthritis.
authors.affiliation: University of Memphis, USA enwillis@memphis.edu.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Willis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001168:Arthritis / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D060756:Social Networking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: communication; health behavior; self-management