Health and support Facebook groups

Podporne Facebook spletne skupine predstavljajo pomembno skupnost, v katero se lahko včlanijo posamezniki, ki izkušajo določeno bolezen, in se na ta način povežejo z drugimi bolniki. Razlogi za pridružitev podpornim spletnim skupinam so raznoliki. Posamezniki se k podpornim skupinam obračajo zaradi potrebe po informacijah o bolezni in zaradi potrebe po čustveni opori, tolažbi in nasvetih, ki krožijo med včlanjenimi bolniki. Bolniki, ki se srečujejo z zdravniki, ki so pomanjkljivo opremljeni z informacijami, te informacije iščejo na spletu in v podpornih skupinah. Poleg tega je znotraj podpornih skupin moč zaznati izreden pomen čustvene opore in tolažbe, ki vpliva na lažje soočanje z boleznijo. Eden izmed razlogov za samomedikalizacijo znotraj spletnih podpornih skupin izhaja tudi iz razmerja medicinskega sistema do zdravljenja in zaupanja, ki ga posamezniki razvijejo do zdravnikov na podlagi osebnih izkušenj. Vloga medicine se relativizira in bolnik postane aktiven člen v procesu lastnega zdravljenja, kjer primaren vir informacij ni več zdravnik, temveč internet.Facebook online support groups are an important community for individuals who experience a particular illness and they also represent groups through which people are able to connect with other patients. There are various reasons for which people join online support groups. Individuals turn to support groups in search for information about their illness, when they need emotional support and comfort and when they search for useful advice circulating among members. When patients encounter doctors who are inadequately equipped with information they start searching for answers elsewhere, like for example online and in support groups. Furthermore, support groups offer a significant amount of emotional support and comfort, which facilitates coping with the disease. One of the reasons for self–medication within online support groups also originates from the relationship the medical system has with the treatment and the trust individuals develop towards doctors based on personal experience. Thus, the role of medicine is relativized and the patient becomes an active link in the process of treatment, where the primary source of information is no longer the doctor but the internet