The underrepresentation of African Americans in online cancer support groups
The underrepresentation of African Americans in online cancer support groups
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DOI：
10.1016/s0027-9684(15)31346-8
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发表时间：
2008-06-01
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Lyons, Elizabeth J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Fogel, Joshua;Ribisl, Kurt M.;Lyons, Elizabeth J.
本手稿的部分内容已于2006年6月19- 20日在北卡罗来纳州查佩尔山举行的确定和传播健康电子社区最佳实践会议上以及2006年10月14-19日在加拿大安大略省多伦多举行的Mednet 2006上发表，互联网对许多癌症幸存者来说越来越重要，因为它提供了获得癌症治疗最新信息的途径，也使他们能够接受通过参加在线癌症支持小组来支持。不幸的是，很少有人知道为什么非裔美国人癌症幸存者在网上癌症支持团体中的代表性不足。本文回顾了相关文献，并讨论了为什么非裔美国人在网上癌症支持团体代表性不足的三种可能的解释：数字鸿沟/数字不平等，偏好面对面的支持或特定文化的在线支持，信任问题。我们的结论是，健康的不平等存在利用信息，可以从网上癌症支持团体。然而，关于在线癌症支持团体的心理社会和情感支持方面的潜在好处，健康不平等可能不存在，因为非洲裔美国人有其他更喜欢的渠道获得所需的支持，没有证据表明这对他们的健康有害。
Portions of this manuscript were presented at the Identifying and Disseminating Best Practices for Health eCommunities Meeting in Chapel Hill, NC, June 19-20,2006 and at Mednet 2006, Toronto, ON, Canada, October 14-19, 2006.The Internet is increasingly important for many cancer survivors because it provides access to the latest information on cancer treatments and also allows them to receive support by participating in online cancer support groups. Unfortunately, little is known about why African-American cancer survivors are underrepresented in online cancer support groups. This article reviews the relevant literature and discusses three possible explanations for why African Americans are underrepresented in online cancer support groups: the digital divide/digital inequality, preferences for face-to-face support or culture-specific online support, and trust concerns. We conclude that a health inequity exists with regard to the utilization of information that can be obtained from online cancer support groups. However, with regard to the potential benefits of the psychosocial and emotional support aspect of online cancer support groups, a health inequity may not exist, as African Americans have other preferred avenues for obtaining needed support, and there is no evidence that this is detrimental to their health.