The health impact of an online heart disease support
group: A comparison of moderated vs. unmoderated support

Lindsay, S; Smith, S; Bellaby, P; Baker, RD

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess whether our
online closed community heart care support
group and information resource could sustain
changes in health behaviour after the moderators
withdrew their support. Heart patients (n 5
108) living in a deprived area of Greater Manchester
were recruited from general practitioners’
coronary heart disease registries. The
sample for this randomized controlled trial was
divided in half at random where half of the participants
received password-protected access to
our health portal and the other half did not. At
6 months follow-up (based on the moderated
phase), there was a significant difference between
the experimental group and the controls in terms
of self-reported diet (eating bad foods less often).
This change in behaviour was not sustained during
the 3-month unmoderated phase. During this
unmoderated phase of the intervention, the experimental
group had significantly more health
care visits compared with the controls. There
was no significant difference between the two
phases for either group in terms of exercise,
smoking or social support. This study offers insight
into the potential implications for health
changes of moderating arrangements for online
health communities.

Citation

group: A comparison of moderated vs. unmoderated support. Health Education Research, 24(4), 646-654. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyp001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Nov 18, 2011
• Journal: Health Education Research
• Print ISSN: 0268-1153
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 646-654
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyp001
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/her/cyp001