depression virtual communities research study

BMC Psychiatry have published a research article on people who use depression virtual communities:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/3/19/abstract

there is a link there to the full text PDF version

the authors say "There are high levels of untreated and undiagnosed depression in users of Internet depression communities. This group represents a target for intervention. Internet communities can provide information and support for stigmatizing conditions that inhibit more traditional modes of information seeking."

This should not be posted here.

This is a froum dedicated and ran by a real Doctor wife team..
SO if you do not like it please do not hinder someone from useing this site by publishing something like this..

<font color=purple>The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.
- G.K. Chesterton
<font color=purple>

I think that's a pretty interesting study to note. It was interested in looking at what kinds of people visited a support community for depression.

I don't think it's at all surprising that they found a high level of depressed people who visit depression support forums online. Sometimes we need foundational research of this kind to help future researchers take the next step forward (e.g., how does the traditional medical or mental health establishment help support these communities and make them more effective).

There's nothing wrong with Hochi posting this study here, and I think them for doing so. This is a general forum for discussion of mental health issues, and certainly research can be included in our topics of discussion.

this was not even done in united states it was done by a

This is a quote off the website and I would like some feedback about why it pretains to this site.. when we are not in the UK, we are in the USA, and this site is also ran by a doctor.. and funded out of your pocket ???
<quote>Study sample

The study sample consisted of individuals recruited from one of six Internet depression communities run by the European company Netdoktor. Netdoktor is an independent consumer e-health company financed by advertising and licensing of content. It hosts several Internet communities. The depression communities are similar to other health-related virtual communities in Europe and the United States. They provide registered members with health information, news stories on depression, the facility to email questions to an expert panel, and peer-to-peer communication via messages and shared personal experiences posted on discussion boards. Registration is free. The communities are hosted in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, in the official language of each country using a common format. Users are likely to be from the host country, with the possible exception of the English-language UK site, although usage statistics show that 90% of page impressions of the UK site are accessed from UK servers.
</Quote>

<font color=purple>The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.
- G.K. Chesterton
<font color=purple>

I'm not sure what you see as a problem in letting people know about the results from a research study related to an online support community similar to ours?

The general forum is for general discussion on anything, a Weblog entry, or mental health issues, and this definitely qualifies under that. I'm not sure what the problem is? I don't mind it when someone let's us know about relevant research findings such as this.

I agree with you DocJohn... while I never considered depression being different fundamentally among ppl, such a study might show such. (Though I doubt it and continue with the premise that no matter the cause of depression, human beings all respond humanly.)

Please research anything I suggest before believing...

I agree too - I would hope that we are a community of mature people that can look at different sides of a topic. IMHO, Hochi had every right to post a topic that is relevant and of interest to those on this board.

some of it's magic
some of it's tragic
but i had a good life all the way......
~jimmy buffett

I'm sorry, I guess just the fact that it was only done on online fourms in the UK not here, and none of the sites here in the US, were asked about their ethics or anything..

It just does nto make sense to me..
It is not a problem.. just a concern that some may get the wrong idea.

*** goes back to her ccfourm ******

<font color=purple>The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.
- G.K. Chesterton
<font color=purple>

hochi, this is a very interesting article. One thing I found fascinating is that while about half of the respondents with depression were not receiving treatment, over a third said that the online community was a factor in their seeking treatment. So, while they conclude that Internet communities may "represent a traget for intervention", their data also seems to show that there is already intervention occurring within the communities.

Anyway, thanks for posting this. It's a pretty balanced paper, and would probably be a good thing for people to show to therapists who show disdain for these kinds of Internet communities, since it points out that they can provide value in addition to therapy.

mj

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