• Pick a single area

  from the list of interpersonal relationships
  

  Disease support groups

• Research the area

  . I found the following articles.
  1. website. Huntings Disease: Why You Might Consider An On-Line Support Group. Finding a group, cautions, privacy.
  2. website. Internet Support Groups - Staying Safe and Happy Online
  3. website. Caregivers Online: Using Support Groups on the Internet Hints about how to evaluate.
  4. blog. Support Groups Have Gone Global With the Internet
  5. blog. Support Groups Not Narcissistic Argues Researchers
  6. blog. Can Virtual Or Internet Based Support Groups Help a Patient Recover Emotionally and Physically
  7. refereed article. Effectiveness of Internet vs. Face to Face Support Groups. Final report of a research grant.
  8. website. Internet fuels support group trend
  9. discussion group. Internet Addiction Support Group. Humour
  10. refereed article. Internet Support Groups for Depression: A 1-Year Prospective Cohort Study
  11. news article. Faking Pain and Suffering In Internet Support Group
  12. website. Emotional Support on the Internet. Advice on getting started
  13. website. A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web
  14. university. Criteria for evaluation of Internet Information Resources

• Choose 3 or 4 for careful analysis.

  I choose the following 4 articles.

  1. 
     Internet Support Groups - Staying Safe and Happy Online

  2. Effectiveness of Internet vs. Face to Face Support Groups.

  3. Faking Pain and Suffering In Internet Support Group

  4. A User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web

• Read the ones you have chosen carefully. Take notes.

  Here are some notes I took.

  1. Internet Support Groups - Staying Safe and Happy Online
     
     • Joining a support group is an optimistic thing. Looking for kind and supportive people.
     • The internet is not always safe. spammers, hoaxers, liars
     • Looking for sexual partners
     • Should you use your real name?
     • How many details should you use?
     • If you use a picture, don't use a glamorous one, use a neutral one.
     • Don't argue online.
     • Most people you meet will be decent and honest.

  2. Effectiveness of Internet vs. Face to Face Support Groups
     
     • 56,000,000 Americans go online for help with health problems
     • Many are minorities or socio-economically deprived.
     • No understanding of the effectiveness of face-to-face v.s. online support groups.
     • Face-to-face support groups are 5 times more costly to build and support than on-line support groups.
     • On-line are even more cost effective in under-served rural areas.
     • In the area of woment with breast cancer, it is easier to recruit and retain woment into on-line support groups.
     • Participants showed significant decreases in depression.
     • Expression of negative emotions (fear, anxiety) led to greater eventual improvement.
     • Leader led support groups had bigger gains than ones not led by trained professionals.

  3. Faking Pain and Suffering In Internet Support Group
     
     • People fake disease symptons to elicit sympathy from "fellow sufferers"
     • People who are living through genuine crisies and tradgedies, nevertheless extend themselves to comfort others.
     • Fakers are often exposed by their own lies and inconsistencies.
     • The internet lends itself to deception.
     • The internet has vast amounts of information for those want to pretend they are sick.
     • Such disceptions are not new to the internet. Various forms (Munchausen.s Syndrome) have been know for over 100 years.
     • Deception seems to be a way of attracting attention, nurturing, sympathy and care.
     • Being treated as a "hero" for courage in the face of adversity.

  4. Criteria for evaluation of Internet Information Resources
     
     • Developed by libraians who have years of experience evaluating what resources are valuable.
     • Lost if information. Where do you start? Search engines, online medical libraies.
     • How can tell if its any good?
       1. Who sponsors the page. Govt. Educational institution, professional, commercial
       2. How current is it?
       3. Is it factual or opinion?
       4. Who is the audience. Consumer or Health professional?
     • Tecno-speak often limits immediate useful ness.
     • Internet Foundation Code of Conduct rules: Authoritative , Complementarity, Privacy, Attribution, Justifiability, Transparency, Financial disclosure, Advertising policy.

• For each important idea, write a sentence that captures that idea.

  1. Internet Support Groups - Staying Safe and Happy Online
     
     • The internet is good resource for finding supportive people with similar needs. Most people are kind, decent and honest.
     • The internet is not always safe. One must protect oneself against spammers, hoaxers, liars, sexual predators, etc.
     • Users should be careful about what information they release.

  2. Effectiveness of Internet vs. Face to Face Support Groups
     
     • Many people go online for help with health problems. It is often the only place available to those with limited means, or who are geographically isolated.
     • On-line support groups can be as effective as face-to-face ones, and users can exhibit large benefits.
     • Professional led support groups are shown to be more effective than those without professional support.

  3. Faking Pain and Suffering In Internet Support Group
     
     • People fake disease symptons to elicit sympathy, attention, nuturing, and care from "fellow sufferers", thast they cannot get through legitimate means.
     • Fakirs detract from the goals of support groups.
     • The internet makes it easier for people to build convincing lies.

  4. Criteria for evaluation of Internet Information Resources
     
     • Medical support information is a valuable tool.
     • Care must be taken to evaluate its usefullness.
     • Fake or inferior sites are often motivated by greed or other non-medical concerns.
     • Studying the source of information can often be a valuable tool in evaluating its worth.

  5. Carefully assess the important ideas.

     Valuable, Uselful, Wide availability, Best used as a supplement, Who can you trust?

  6. Make a 1 page powerpoint slide.

     Powerpoint slide

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