https://doi.org/10.4081/qrmh.2019.7007
It doesn’t make sense, but we do: framing disease in an online metastatic breast cancer support community
Submitted: 22 August 2017
Accepted: 11 July 2019
Published: 23 August 2019
Accepted: 11 July 2019
Abstract Views: 1141
PDF: 543
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Using Weick’s sensemaking as a conceptual framework to investigate online discussions between members of a Facebook group of metastatic breast cancer patients, and using thematic analysis to examine textual threads between group members, this research examines participants’ framing of cancer survivorship. Participants in peer-to-peer disease support groups, which are not led by medical experts, communicate differently among themselves in order to cope with chronic and terminal illness. Perceptions of survivorship of late stage patients versus early stage patients differ for a variety of reasons, with late stage patients understanding their illness trajectory more often as chronic and declining. This analysis identified three properties of sensemaking used by members to manage their disease: identity, retrospective, and enactment. Results indicate that peer-to-peer online support group communication engenders distinct framing logics that members draw upon for group support as they manage a chronic and terminal disease.
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How to Cite
Anderson, Ariane B. 2019. “It doesn’t Make Sense, But We Do: Framing Disease in an Online Metastatic Breast Cancer Support Community”. Qualitative Research in Medicine and Healthcare 3 (2). https://doi.org/10.4081/qrmh.2019.7007.
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