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A Mixed-Method Approach to Understand and Improve Individual Participation Behaviour in Online Health Communities

With the expansion of online communities, extant research in multiple disciplines have attempted to investigate its adoption and use among individuals. However, the biggest challenge encountered by managers of these communities is supplying knowledge, particularly, the willingness to share knowledge among the members. Cancers figure among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths up till 2012. The number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next two decades. For this reason, there is an ever-increasing need to establish communities to offer empathic support to patients. To achieve its objectives, this study mainly adopts the Social cognitive theory and two components of the social influence theory. The study aims to provide insights on how and why patients diagnosed with cancer (and their relatives) seek social support using the Internet and social media. In particular, we seek to understand the motivation for joining and participating within these groups and the values derived from the community for the users both active and non-active.