Facebook'un çevrimiçi destek grubu işlevi üzerine nitel bir araştırma: Fıv+ kedi sahipleri örneği
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Dosyalar
Tarih
2020
Yazarlar
Dergi Başlığı
Dergi ISSN
Cilt Başlığı
Yayıncı
İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi
Erişim Hakkı
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Özet
Sağlık ile ilgili konularda, başta kronik hastalıklar olmak üzere pek çok hastalıkta fiziksel tedaviye tamamlayıcı bir yaklaşım olarak görülen ve psiko-sosyal destek sağlama amacı taşıyan destek grupları, internet teknolojisinin yaygınlaşması ile çevrimiçi bağlama taşınmıştır. Zaman ve mekândan bağımsız erişim imkânı ile kullanıcılar kendileri ile benzer problemlere sahip diğer kullanıcıların deneyimlerinden faydalanmakta; uygulanan tedavi prosedürünün doğruluğunu teyit edebilmekte ve her şeyden önemlisi, yaşadıkları sağlık problemlerinin psikolojik etkilerinin azaltılmasında gruptan duygusal fayda sağlamaktadır. Öte yandan, sözü edilen gruplarda kaynağın her zaman uzman kimliğinin olmaması ve verdiği tavsiyenin davranış boyutuna taşınması ihtimali ciddi riskleri bünyesinde barındırmaktadır. Bu çalışma ile Facebook üzerinde yer alan ve FIV+ tanısı almış kedi sahiplerinin uluslararası destek grubu olarak nitelendirilen FIV+ Support Group adlı grup ele alınmıştır. Bu sayede grupta yer alan paylaşımların tematik olarak kategorilendirilmesi ve katılımcıların grup ile kurdukları bağın ortaya konması amaçlanmaktadır. Nitel bir tasarıma sahip olan bu çalışmada, çevrimiçi gözlem ve yarı yapılandırılmış soru formundan faydalanılmıştır. Çalışma neticesinde destek grubunda yer alan kedi sahiplerinin grupta bulunma nedenleri, grubun hayatlarında nasıl bir işleve sahip olduğu ve sağlık alanında karar verirken grupta paylaşılan içeriklerin rolü tartışılmıştır
Today, the place of psychological support is indisputable in the treatment of all diseases, but there is no systematic about how and where the support will be provided. While some health institutions provide psychological support services within hospitals, as an alternative, there are also institutions independent from hospitals that provide psychological support communities. However, some diseases require individuals to stay at home and going out may be an important risk factor for patients. In some cases, individuals do not have enough financial conditions to afford this type of service or are often interrupted due to a continuity problem. In such cases, social media functions as an accessible alternative to the psychological support service provided in a face-to-face manner. Individuals who experience the same disease have the opportunity to come together online and social media facilitates this process. In this study, in addition to the functions of social media such as entertainment, information, leisure time, it is discussed how it functions as a support group. This aspect of social media has been dealt in various studies in the related literature. In other words, the situation that social media is an alternative for face-to-face support groups is not new. The peculiarity of this study can be described as this study includes users who are obliged to take care of the patient, not directly the patient. In this respect, it aims to analyze the online psychological support activities of cat owners whose cats have diagnosed as FIV, which is a chronic disease, in terms of opportunities and threats. In order to achieve this goal, both the online observation technique was used and a semi-structured questionnaire was sent to the group members. Chronic diseases are defined as prolonged conditions that cannot be fully cured and do not heal (Müezzinoğlu, 2013, s. VIII). It is known that individuals with chronic illnesses use the internet to seek more information than other users and their online literacy skills are higher than others (Gençyürek Erdoğan, 2019, s. 56-57). The fact that chronic diseases have a lifelong experience creates the need for continuous information update for patients. Additionally, knowing that others have similar experiences has a psychological facilitating effect. As a result of the study, it is seen that individuals share posts in order to confirm current health care applied to their cats; seeking advice on health-related practices; sharing alternative medicine treatment methods; learning the experience of people with similar problems; seeking spiritual support in case of critical health situations or death. Thanks to these groups, users can share their experiences with other users; they can get medical advice in case of inability to access treatment and have the opportunity to alleviate the negative psychological effects caused by the disease. While the users of the group support each other emotionally and informationally, they also experience a very risky process. So much so that experiences are frequently shared on health-related issues and users tend to follow these recommendations. The user giving the advice does not always have to be a veterinarian, and this is considered a risky factor. Due to the anonymous nature of online interactions, it brings the obligation to rethink about the online formation of support groups. The greater involvement of veterinarians and healthcare professionals in the discussions in Facebook support groups enables patients to remain in constant contact as a reliable source of information and will enable the verification of recommendations and increase the quality of the information shared in these groups. In addition; organizing informative e-meetings for owners of patients with chronic diseases by veterinarians and/or preparing informative booklets without medical terms by veterinary professional organizations will provide access to accurate information in the disease process and it is predicted that it will prevent the implementation of unqualified information. It is seen that the critical disease states and / or death news shared in the groups have negative effects on the users, but the most common activity within the group is looking for a solution by sharing the disease states. While users feel emotionally good when they share their cats' illness and get advice, seeing negative posts shared by other cats’ owners has a negative impact although her cat's health is good. The international structure of the group prevents the evaluation of the shared contents according to the countries separately and this makes possible to bypass the legal regulations easily. According to legal regulations in Turkey, it is forbidden to share promotional content which is directly targeted end consumer. However, in many countries, especially in the United States and Europe, practices for promotional activities in the field of health differ.
Today, the place of psychological support is indisputable in the treatment of all diseases, but there is no systematic about how and where the support will be provided. While some health institutions provide psychological support services within hospitals, as an alternative, there are also institutions independent from hospitals that provide psychological support communities. However, some diseases require individuals to stay at home and going out may be an important risk factor for patients. In some cases, individuals do not have enough financial conditions to afford this type of service or are often interrupted due to a continuity problem. In such cases, social media functions as an accessible alternative to the psychological support service provided in a face-to-face manner. Individuals who experience the same disease have the opportunity to come together online and social media facilitates this process. In this study, in addition to the functions of social media such as entertainment, information, leisure time, it is discussed how it functions as a support group. This aspect of social media has been dealt in various studies in the related literature. In other words, the situation that social media is an alternative for face-to-face support groups is not new. The peculiarity of this study can be described as this study includes users who are obliged to take care of the patient, not directly the patient. In this respect, it aims to analyze the online psychological support activities of cat owners whose cats have diagnosed as FIV, which is a chronic disease, in terms of opportunities and threats. In order to achieve this goal, both the online observation technique was used and a semi-structured questionnaire was sent to the group members. Chronic diseases are defined as prolonged conditions that cannot be fully cured and do not heal (Müezzinoğlu, 2013, s. VIII). It is known that individuals with chronic illnesses use the internet to seek more information than other users and their online literacy skills are higher than others (Gençyürek Erdoğan, 2019, s. 56-57). The fact that chronic diseases have a lifelong experience creates the need for continuous information update for patients. Additionally, knowing that others have similar experiences has a psychological facilitating effect. As a result of the study, it is seen that individuals share posts in order to confirm current health care applied to their cats; seeking advice on health-related practices; sharing alternative medicine treatment methods; learning the experience of people with similar problems; seeking spiritual support in case of critical health situations or death. Thanks to these groups, users can share their experiences with other users; they can get medical advice in case of inability to access treatment and have the opportunity to alleviate the negative psychological effects caused by the disease. While the users of the group support each other emotionally and informationally, they also experience a very risky process. So much so that experiences are frequently shared on health-related issues and users tend to follow these recommendations. The user giving the advice does not always have to be a veterinarian, and this is considered a risky factor. Due to the anonymous nature of online interactions, it brings the obligation to rethink about the online formation of support groups. The greater involvement of veterinarians and healthcare professionals in the discussions in Facebook support groups enables patients to remain in constant contact as a reliable source of information and will enable the verification of recommendations and increase the quality of the information shared in these groups. In addition; organizing informative e-meetings for owners of patients with chronic diseases by veterinarians and/or preparing informative booklets without medical terms by veterinary professional organizations will provide access to accurate information in the disease process and it is predicted that it will prevent the implementation of unqualified information. It is seen that the critical disease states and / or death news shared in the groups have negative effects on the users, but the most common activity within the group is looking for a solution by sharing the disease states. While users feel emotionally good when they share their cats' illness and get advice, seeing negative posts shared by other cats’ owners has a negative impact although her cat's health is good. The international structure of the group prevents the evaluation of the shared contents according to the countries separately and this makes possible to bypass the legal regulations easily. According to legal regulations in Turkey, it is forbidden to share promotional content which is directly targeted end consumer. However, in many countries, especially in the United States and Europe, practices for promotional activities in the field of health differ.
Açıklama
Anahtar Kelimeler
FIV, Facebook, Çevrimiçi Destek Grupları, Online Support Groups
Kaynak
Intermedia Uluslararası Hakemli İletişim Bilimleri E-Dergisi
WoS Q Değeri
Scopus Q Değeri
Cilt
7
Sayı
12
