Internet chat rooms source for support
Teach patients to select sites, take advice with care
Sooner or later, those who suffer from a chronic condition will make use of thier access to the Internet to look for support and information about their illness. That’s why patient education managers should teach patients how to select reputable sites where they can discuss with other people solutions to their problems in real-time or post questions and get answers later.
People with a chronic illness need to understand that it takes time to find good chat rooms and mailing lists, says Joyce Flory, PhD, creative director for Alliances Interactive, an Internet consulting firm in Alexandria, VA.
When you find a chat room, contact the group moderator and ask for a description of what the group does and its rules. Also, see if transcripts of previous chats are available, advises Flory. "If a person decides to participate in a chat, he or she should spend the first few sessions just listening and getting to know the group," she says. Be sure to ask for the credentials of the moderator as well. The best chat rooms have a professional or a person with the chronic disease moderating and directing the conversation.
Once the patient begins participating in chat sessions, he or she should take advice from the Internet as information that needs to be verified. People who have experienced the same condition often have valid advice, but no matter their credentials, they cannot diagnose and treat illnesses over the Web, says Flory. (For guidelines on how to evaluate a Web site, see Patient Education Management, March 1997, pp. 29-30.)
Following is a list of Internet addresses Flory recommends for people beginning to search for chat rooms and other opportunities for support on-line:
• Mailing lists.
There are mailing lists on a variety of topics including chronic disease. Subscribers to a mailing list receive all the messages posted on the list. The benefit of such lists is that people can post questions and receive advice from others with like-conditions.
• http://www.liszt.com.
This site is a directory of mailing lists providing 71,618 listings. It also provides links to mailing lists.
• Chat rooms.
Areas that provide real-time conversation over the Internet between groups of people who type in questions and responses.
• http://www.columbia.net.
This site sponsored by Columbia/HCA Health Care Corporation has various chats scheduled with different types of doctors.
• http://www.mayo.ivi.com.
This site produced by the Mayo Clinic has areas where people can ask questions of a Mayo physician, dietitian, or nurse. There also are live forums hosted by physicians on a variety of topics.
[Editor’s note: For more information on the Internet, contact Joyce Flory, Alliances Interactive, 260 East Chestnut Street, Chicago IL 60611. Telephone: (312) 944-3654. E-mail: [email protected].]
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