Abstract
Peer-led online communities (PLOCs) for people living with physical chronic conditions are places to find both comfort and support as well as spaces for epistemic negotiation. This article explores the role of PLOCs in the configuration of knowledge on chronic illness and unfolds how temporality of illness influences this process. A qualitative analysis using a thematic coding process was performed on transcripts from 20 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2022 with people living with various physical chronic conditions and using PLOCs. Three themes were identified: new patient, experienced patient and knowledges. The article finds that knowledge on chronic illness is configured by (1) information from peers in PLOCs, (2) medical expertise from doctors and (3) own experiential knowledge on illness. The article further suggests that this configuration is influenced by the temporality of illness and thus is steered by the onset of a diagnosis. The PLOCs play a significant role at the onset of a diagnosis and make a ‘new chronic patient’ engage more, while an ‘experienced patient’ tends to withdraw from PLOCs. The article concludes by discussing the potentials of recognizing PLOCs as spaces where the joining together of various knowledge forms is made possible.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Qualitative Health Communication |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| ISSN | 2597-1417 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2024 |