Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37632861›Full record

ArticleJMIR dermatology2022

Experiences of Blogging About Visible and Long-term Skin Conditions: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Selina K Tour, Andrew Thompson, Ruth A Howard, Michael Larkin

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR dermatology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 79% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Selina K TourSchool of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6088-945X
Andrew ThompsonSouth Wales National Health Service Clinical Psychology Training Programme, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6788-7222
Ruth A HowardSchool of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3773-9496
Michael LarkinSchool of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3304-7000
University of Birmingham · GBAston University · GBNational Health Service Wales · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSkin conditions can detract from people's quality of life, much like conditions such as cancer, chronic pain, and depression. Visible skin conditions can lead to risk of stigmatization. It is acknowledged that there is a lack of available psychosocial support for people living with chronic skin conditions. One way in which individuals with long-term conditions are self-managing and providing peer support is through blogging and exchanging information on the web. To date, no research has specifically investigated how individuals with skin conditions experience the use blogging for self-management.

objectiveThis study sought to investigate the experiences of individuals with visible, long-term skin conditions when blogging about their conditions.

methodsA systematic blog search and a short survey were used for recruitment. A total of 4 participants took part in email interviews, which were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Skin conditions included alopecia, psoriasis, and hirsutism. The content of these individuals' blogs was also analyzed using a qualitative template method derived from the IPA analysis.

resultsThe interviews and accounts revealed a clear sense of uncertainty about the course of the bloggers' skin conditions. This appeared to be associated with feelings of distress and isolation, searching for treatments, and ultimately a sense of defeat. The data revealed that blogging provided a space where this sense of defeat was managed and challenged. Posting on the web facilitated connection with others and enabled support networks to be established that assisted in challenging the feelings of isolation experienced. The data demonstrate the important role that blogging played for these participants in developing a sense of acceptance of their condition.

conclusionsBlogging may provide a way for individuals to self-manage distress associated with visible skin conditions. It may provide similar benefits to those known to be derived from emotional disclosure that occurs during writing, with an added peer support dimension. Blogging has occurred naturalistically on web-based forums, and this study demonstrates how this form of interaction may warrant adaptation for use with web-based psychosocial interventions for people living with skin conditions. This study had a limited sample of 4 bloggers; therefore, further exploration would be needed to consider the utility of this approach.

Indexed as

bloggingemotional disclosureinterpretative phenomenological analysispeer supportpsychodermatologyqualitative researchself-managementstigmatisation

Identifiers

PMID37632861
PMCPMC10334883
OpenAlexW3210997243

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.