Perceptions of Food Hypersensitivity Expertise on Social Media: Qualitative Study
Perceptions of Food Hypersensitivity Expertise on Social Media: Qualitative Study
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DOI：
10.2196/10812
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发表时间：
2019-04-01
影响因子：
2
通讯作者：
Lucas, Jane S.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Hamshaw, Richard James Thomas;Barnett, Julie;Lucas, Jane S.
背景：寻找和分享信息是互联网和社交媒体的主要用途。因此，至关重要的是要了解个人在这些不同平台上获取信息时所经历的过程，特别是在健康和风险相关信息等领域。这种参与的一个重要因素是评估并将专业知识归功于他人。目的：本研究旨在探讨两组社交媒体用户如何构建与食物过敏和不耐受（食物超敏反应）相关的专业知识的含义：(1)因食物超敏反应相关原因使用平台的用户；(2)被社区视为专家的用户。方法：调查参与者被要求回答开放式问题，以确定社交媒体上食物过敏问题的潜在专家，并讨论他们选择的理由（n=143）。随后，8名具有食物过敏管理经验的成年社交媒体用户和5名被这些用户指定为专家的参与者参加了电子邮件访谈。使用Braun和Clarke的方法对调查和访谈数据进行主题分析。结果：判断社交媒体上的专业知识是一个复杂的、多方面的过程。使用者可以通过他们的专业背景或他们与食物过敏的生活经历来判断他们是专家。用户在社交媒体上的行为以及他们在网络上活动的痕迹会影响其他人对他们的看法。这些考虑都是通过社交媒体社区本身来衡量和调节的。研究结果强调了社交媒体在诊断后通常是如何作为支持性信息工具的，但这也引起了人们对患者无法获得适当审查信息的担忧。结论：这项工作有助于了解用户如何看待与健康问题有关的社交媒体专业知识，以及在风险管理期间如何进行信息评估。研究结果为医疗和组织利益相关者提供了实用的见解，这些利益相关者参与支持那些生活在改变生活条件下的人，如食物过敏。
Background: Seeking and sharing information are the primary uses of the internet and social media. It is therefore vital to understand the processes individuals go through when engaging with information on these diverse platforms, especially in areas such as health- and risk-related information. One important element of such engagement is evaluating and attributing expertise to others.Objective: This study aimed to explore how meanings around expertise in relation to food allergy and intolerance (food hypersensitivity) were constructed by 2 groups of social media users: (1) those who use platforms for reasons relating to food hypersensitivity and (2) those seen as experts by this community.Methods: Survey participants were asked open-ended questions to identify potential experts in food hypersensitivity issues on social media and to discuss their reasoning for their choices (n=143). Subsequently, 8 adult social media users with experience of managing food hypersensitivity and 5 participants designated as experts by those users took part in email interviews. Survey and interview data were analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke's approach.Results: Judging expertise on social media is a complex and multifaceted process. Users might be judged as experts through their professional background or their experience living with food hypersensitivities. How users behave on social media and the traces of their Web-based activity can influence how others will see them. Such considerations are both measured and moderated through the social media community itself. Findings highlighted how social media often act as a supportive information tool following a diagnosis, but this also raised concerns regarding the scenario of patients not being able to access suitable vetted information.Conclusions: This work has implications for understanding how users perceive expertise on social media in relation to a health concern and how information assessments are made during the management of risks. Findings provide practical insights to both medical and organizational stakeholders involved in the support of those living with life-changing conditions, such as food hypersensitivities.