Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36607714›Full record

ArticleJMIR diabetes2023

Social Support in a Diabetes Online Community: Mixed Methods Content Analysis.

Cidila Da Moura Semedo, Peter A Bath, Ziqi Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR diabetes, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Cidila Da Moura Semedo *Health Informatics Research Group, Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0224-2540
Peter A Bath *Health Informatics Research Group, Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6310-7396
Ziqi Zhang *Information Retrieval Research Group, Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8587-8618

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with diabetes may experience different needs according to their diabetes stage. These needs may be met via online health communities in which individuals seek health-related information and exchange different types of social support. Understanding the social support categories that may be more important for different diabetes stages may help diabetes online communities (DOCs) provide more tailored support to web-based users.

objectiveThis study aimed to explore and quantify the categorical patterns of social support observed in a DOC, taking into consideration users' different diabetes stages, including prediabetes, type 2 diabetes (T2D), T2D with insulin treatment, and T2D remission.

methodsData were collected from one of the largest DOCs in Europe: Diabetes.co.uk. Drawing on a mixed methods content analysis, a qualitative content analysis was conducted to explore what social support categories could be identified in users' posts. A total of 1841 posts were coded by 5 human annotators according to a modified version of the Social Support Behavior Code, including 7 different social support categories: achievement, congratulations, network support, seeking emotional support, seeking informational support, providing emotional support, and providing informational support. Subsequently, quantitative content analysis was conducted using chi-square post hoc analysis to compare the most prominent social support categories across different stages of diabetes.

resultsSeeking informational support (605/1841, 32.86%) and providing informational support (597/1841, 32.42%) were the most frequent categories exchanged among users. The overall distribution of social support categories was significantly different across the diabetes stages (χ

conclusionsThis is the first study to highlight what, how, and when different types of social support may be beneficial at different stages of diabetes. Multiple stakeholders may benefit from these findings that may provide novel insights into how these categories can be strategically used and leveraged to support diabetes management.

Indexed as

content analysisdiabetes online communityhealth communicationmixed methodsprediabetessocial supporttype 2 diabetestype 2 diabetes insulintype 2 diabetes remission

Identifiers

PMID36607714
PMCPMC9945924

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.