Patients' Convergence of Mass and Interpersonal Communication on an Online Forum: Hybrid Methods Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Patients are increasingly taking an active role in their health. In doing so, they combine both mass and interpersonal media to gratify their cognitive and affective needs (ie, convergence). Owing to methodological challenges when studying convergence, a detailed view of how patients are using different types of media for needs fulfillment is lacking.

Objective

The aim of this study was to obtain insight into the frequency of reported convergence, how convergence affects what posters write online, motives for posting, and the needs posters are trying to fulfill.

Methods

Using a hybrid method of content analysis and supervised machine learning, this study used naturally available data to fill this research gap. We analyzed opening posts (N=1708) of an online

SUBMITTER: Sanders R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7605979 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature