ArticleOnline journal of public health informatics2015
Virtual communities of practice: can they support the prevention agenda in public health?
Article in Online journal of public health informatics, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- A virtual One Health Community of practice in West Nile sub-region, Uganda: Implementation experience and participation trends.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Primary Care Physicians' Interactions With a Novel Web-Based Active Learning Tool (The Community Fracture Capture Learning Hub): Qualitative Analysis.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Moderators' Role in Fostering Health Practitioner Engagement Within an Online Active Learning Program (The Community Fracture Capture Learning Hub): Qualitative Relational Content Thematic Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Article
- Stakeholder perspectives on implementation of internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy in physical medicine rehabilitation setting using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2025Article
- What Do Community Doulas Think About the Future of the Doula Workforce?Maternal and child health journal · 2024Article
- Establishing communities of practice to improve health policy, systems and reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health in West Africa.Ghana medical journal · 2022Article
- Implementation of Virtual Communities of Practice in Healthcare to Improve Capability and Capacity: A 10-Year Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The congressionally directed medical research programs' Ovarian Cancer Academy: a new approach to training in biomedical research.Journal of clinical and translational science · 2022Article
- Implementation of the World Health Organization Global Burn Registry: Lessons Learned.Annals of global health · 2022Article
- Virtual communities of practice to improve clinical outcomes in healthcare: protocol for a 10-year scoping review.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Competing for space in an already crowded market: a mixed methods study of why an online community of practice (CoP) for alcohol harm reduction failed to generate interest amongst the group of public health professionals at which it was aimed.Implementation science : IS · 2017Article
- mHealth Assessment: Conceptualization of a Global Framework.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2017Article
- Building State and Local Public Health Capacity in Syndromic Surveillance Through an Online Community of Practice.Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVirtual Communities of Practice (CoPs) are flexible communication and knowledge management tools enabling collaboration, sharing of best practice and professional development. There have been few studies that have looked at the use and usefulness of virtual CoPs in public health.
methodsThis project sought to gather the evidence and develop recommendations for the value of virtual CoPs in public health through a literature review, and through piloting two CoPs in obesity. The research aimed to find out how useful CoPs are in obesity prevention, what makes a CoP successful and what evaluation methods are appropriate.
resultsCoPs are composed of observers, passive and active contributors with a small group of 'super-users'. All users learn through reading and listening, even if they do not post. The CoPs had higher levels of reading activity as opposed to low levels of posting activity. Longer existence of CoPs usually means more active membership. There are complex reasons why users fail to engage in knowledge sharing. Success of a CoP is creating an online environment where users feel comfortable. CoPs need administrative support and facilitation. Champions play a vital role.
conclusionsEvidence shows some encouraging results about the value of CoPs in enabling collaboration and information sharing. Despite low membership numbers of the obesity CoPs piloted, members see value and suggest improvements. Findings suggest that success comes from leadership, champions, and larger networks with more posting activity. Mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative research are appropriate in measuring the use and impact of CoPs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.