Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 2, 2026

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community
Published on: May 31, 2019
Tackling Dilemmas in Supporting "The Whole Person" in Online Patient Communities
Abstract:
Online health communities that engage the patient as a whole person attend to personal and medical needs in a holistic manner. Whether current communities structure interaction between health professionals and patients to address the whole person is an open question. To gain insights into this question, we examined a sample of online patient communities to understand health professionals' involvement in bringing in medical advice into peer-patient conversations. We found the communities fall short in supporting the whole person, because (1) patient expertise and clinical expertise generated by health professionals are shared separately, and (2) patients' quantified data are separate from narrative experiences. Such separation in the design of these systems can lead to limitations in addressing patients' interwoven medical and personal concerns. We discuss dilemmas and design implications for supporting the whole person in online patient communities.
Related Concept Videos
Ethical Dilemmas II
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Self-Help Support Groups
Accessibility and Cost-Effectiveness
One of the primary strengths of self-help...
Ethical Dilemmas I
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...
Patient-centered Care
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...

