Instructions The purpose of this assignment is to validate information from an online health community (OHC) that focuses on a specific disease condition. Healthcare institutions use technology as a means of providing services to promote health and guide patients toward resources that will foster a lifestyle free from illness and disability. Consumers are stepping away from these institutional websites as a means of acquiring information to the use of the Internet through blogs, message boards, and online communities. In 2007, Tom Ferguson, with the e-Patient Scholars Working Group, coined the term e-patient, and established three groups: (1) the well and their caregivers (The Well), (2) those facing a new medical challenge and their caregivers (The Acutes), and (3) those with chronic but stable illnesses and their caregivers (The Chronics). 1. Review Dr. Rand’s power point presentation “Online Health Communities: The influence of social media on consumer empowerment. (Attached) 2. Read Nambisan’s article for instructions on how to evaluate Online Health Communities from a consumer perspective. 3. Explore online health communities recommended by Pinterest or WebMD 4. Follow the instructions on slide 4 of the power point presentation for specific instructions on how to complete this assignment. Assign at least one page per OHC website evaluation and respond to activities a, b, and c below for each OHC. a) Describe the purpose of the virtual health community that you selected. b) Evaluate the website based on 4 dimensions of experience: Pragmatic, empathic, sociability, and usability experience. The parameters for evaluation are described in Nambisans article (Week 14 folder) with details in the next slide. c) Describe why or why not you would recommend each site to a patient/client with that condition
