Can online social support be detrimental in stigmatized chronic diseases? A quadratic model of the effects of informational and emotional support on self-care behavior of HIV patients

ConclusionsBeyond a threshold, both informational and emotional online social support had a deleterious impact on self-care behavior of HIV patients. Our results suggested that caution should be exercised in the use of online health community interventions for HIV patients, and perhaps patients with other stigmatized chronic diseases.
Source: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association - Category: Information Technology Source Type: research