ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2013
Community management that works: how to build and sustain a thriving online health community.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Online Communities as a Driver for Patient Empowerment: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- The Antecedents and Consequences of Health Care Professional-Patient Online Interactions: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Pooled it
- From Help-Seekers to Influential Users: A Systematic Review of Participation Styles in Online Health Communities.Journal of medical Internet research · 2015Pooled it
- The Role of Seed Users in Nurturing an Online Health Community for Smoking Cessation Among People With HIV/AIDS.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2024Trial
- Facebook Intervention to Connect Alaska Native People With Resources and Support to Quit Smoking: CAN Quit Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023Trial
- Lessons Learned From Beta-Testing a Facebook Group Prototype to Promote Treatment Use in the "Connecting Alaska Native People to Quit Smoking" (CAN Quit) Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- A Web-Based and Mobile Health Social Support Intervention to Promote Adherence to Inhaled Asthma Medications: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2016Trial
- A web-based psychoeducational program for informal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2015Trial
- Design Guidelines for Online Health Forums: User-Centered Design Approach.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Insights and Recommendations From Moderators and Community Members for Keeping Online Peer Support Safe: Thematic Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Evaluating Peer Online Forums to Support Health: Ethical and Practical Challenges.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- The role of mobile devices in fostering the engagement of stigmatized patients in online health communities.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Determinants of the adoption of an online community for people with diabetes: a qualitative study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Provision of Social Support in an Online Support Forum for Caregivers of People With Comorbid Dementia and Cancer: Content Analysis Study.JMIR cancer · 2025Article
- Feasibility and Usability of a Web-Based Peer Support Network for Care Partners of People With Serious Illness (ConnectShareCare): Observational Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Observational
- Agile Nudge University Innovation Forum: solving real-world problems.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Wiidookaage'win: Beta-test of a Facebook group intervention for Native women to support opioid use recovery.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
- A Web-Based Peer Support Network to Help Care Partners of People With Serious Illness: Co-Design Study.JMIR human factors · 2024Article
- Use of Online Communities among People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Scoping Review.Current diabetes reports · 2024Article
- Factors influencing user's health information discernment abilities in online health communities: based on SEM and fsQCA.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Health care professionals, patients, caregivers, family, friends, and other supporters are increasingly joining online health communities to share information and find support. But social Web (Web 2.0) technology alone does not create a successful online community. Building and sustaining a successful community requires an enabler and strategic community management. Community management is more than moderation. The developmental life cycle of a community has four stages: inception, establishment, maturity, and mitosis. Each stage presents distinct characteristics and management needs. This paper describes the community management strategies, resources, and expertise needed to build and maintain a thriving online health community; introduces some of the challenges; and provides a guide for health organizations considering this undertaking. The paper draws on insights from an ongoing study and observation of online communities as well as experience managing and consulting a variety of online health communities. Discussion includes effective community building practices relevant to each stage, such as outreach and relationship building, data collection, content creation, and other proven techniques that ensure the survival and steady growth of an online health community.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.