ArticleInternational journal of behavioral medicine2017
Investigating Patterns of Participation in an Online Support Group for Problem Drinking: a Social Network Analysis.
Article in International journal of behavioral medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Developing a Behavioral Phenotyping Layer for Artificial Intelligence-Driven Predictive Analytics in a Digital Resiliency Course: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Nudges and Prompts Increase Engagement in Self-Guided Digital Health Treatment for Depression and Anxiety: Results From a 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Testing Behavioral Nudges and Prompts in Digital Courses for the Self-guided Treatment of Depression and Anxiety: Protocol for a 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Using Social Media to Engage Knowledge Users in Health Research Priority Setting: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Efficacy of a complex smartphone application for reducing hazardous alcohol consumption: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial with analysis of in-app user behavior in relation to outcome.International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2020Article
- Discussions of Alcohol Use in an Online Social Network for Smoking Cessation: Analysis of Topics, Sentiment, and Social Network Centrality.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Article
- How Online Communities of People With Long-Term Conditions Function and Evolve: Network Analysis of the Structure and Dynamics of the Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation Online Communities.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Article
- Editorial on IJBM Special Issue-E-Health Interventions for Addictive Behaviors.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2017Article
- Employing the Gini coefficient to measure participation inequality in treatment-focused Digital Health Social Networks.Network modeling and analysis in health informatics and bioinformatics · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeThis study contributes to emerging literature on online health networks by modeling communication patterns between members of a moderated online support group for problem drinking. Using social network analysis, we described members' patterns of joint participation in threads, parsing out the role of site moderators, and explored differences in member characteristics by network position.
methodsPosts made to the online support group of Alcohol Help Centre during 2013 were structured as a two-mode network of members (n = 205) connected via threads (n = 506). Metrics included degree centrality, clique membership, and tie strength.
resultsThe network consisted of one component and no cliques of members, although most made few posts and a small number communicated only with the site's moderators. Highly active members were older and tended to have started posting prior to 2013. The distribution of members across threads varied from threads containing posts by one member to others that connected multiple members. Moderators accounted for sizable proportions of the connectivity between both members and threads.
conclusionsAfter 5 years of operation, the AHC online support group appears to be fairly cohesive and stable, in the sense that there were no isolated subnetworks comprised of specific types of members or devoted to specific topics. Participation and connectedness at the member-level was varied, however, and tended to be low on average. The moderators were among the most central in the network, although there were also members who emerged as central and dedicated contributors to the online discussions across topics. Study findings highlight a number of areas for consideration by online support group developers and managers.
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Registered trials
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