JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The use of online resources has changed how people manage healthcare processes. Patients seek information about health conditions, guidance in treatment and support from peers online, complementary to traditional healthcare trajectories. Online communities have the potential to contribute to the quality of care by increasing patient empowerment. However, there is a gap in research regarding in what way online communities contribute to patient empowerment.

Objective:

We synthesize research regarding how online communities contribute to patient empowerment, through the research question: In what ways can participation in online communities support patient empowerment? by studying how patient empowerment is operationalized in different studies.

Methods:

A systematic review was conducted, through the following databases: SCOPUS, ACM Digital Library, Ebsco (Cinahal & Medline), PubMed and Web of Science. In total there were 1187 papers after excluding duplicates, and through selection processes using an analytical framework, 33 peer-reviewed papers were included.

Results:

Findings indicated that online communities support patient empowerment both as a process and as outcomes of these processes. Additionally, it was seen as a complement to traditional healthcare and encouragement for healthcare professionals to have a more positive attitude towards patients’ usage. There was a mix between inductive and deductive approach of studying patient empowerment in various forms. The online communities studied were mainly well-established, where patients’ own initiative of usage was most represented.

Conclusions:

There is a need to include the perspective of professionals regarding how healthcare can embrace patient empowerment through online communities. The main contribution of this systematic review is the proposal of a new framework and conceptualization of how patient empowerment in online communities can be understood from different hierarchical levels.