Collective empowerment of an online patient community: conceptualizing process dynamics using a multi-method qualitative approach.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Online communities for patients with chronic conditions are becoming healthcare providers. They gather to offer support and services, and to become a collective oppositional force. We found, however, that these communities and their collective power are rarely studied in the health services management literature, which focuses more on the empowering practices of healthcare professionals or patient participation. The aim of this study is thus to build a better understanding of the nature of patients' collective empowerment and the processes underlying it. We carry out two exploratory qualitative studies to examine the motivations that drive chronically ill patients to engage in an individual and then collective empowerment process.

Methods

The first qualitative stu

SUBMITTER: Fayn MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8436557 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature