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Benefits of Expanded Social Networks to Patients With Psoriasis

Shereene Z. Idriss, BA; Joseph C. Kvedar, MD; Alice J. Watson, MBChB, MRCP, MPH

Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(1):46-51.

Objective  To determine the demographics, usage patterns, attitudes, and experiences of online support site users.

Design  Online survey.

Patients  A total of 260 subjects recruited from 5 online psoriasis support groups.

Main Outcome Measures  An exploratory analysis was performed to determine demographic and disease characteristics of online support site users. Perceived benefits were also documented.

Results  The mean (SD) age of respondents was 40.1 (11.5) years (range, 18-75 years), most (75.7%) were white, female (60.4%), and college educated (84.3%). Key factors associated with use of online support sites included availability of resources (95.3%), convenience (94.0%), access to good advice (91.0%), and the lack of embarrassment when dealing with personal issues (90.8%). The most common activities were posting messages (65.0%) and searching for information (63.1%). Nearly half of all respondents perceived improvements in their quality of life (49.5%) and psoriasis severity (41.0%) since joining the site. Intensity of participation in online support activities was associated with improved quality of life (P = .002), but not with improvements in psoriasis severity.

Conclusions  Our data demonstrate that psoriasis virtual communities offer users both a valuable educational resource and a source of psychological and social support. Such benefits could be further enhanced by physician engagement within these communities.

Author Affiliations: Center for Connected Health (Ms Idriss and Drs Kvedar and Watson), Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital (Ms Idriss and Drs Kvedar and Watson), and Harvard Medical School (Drs Kvedar and Watson), Boston.

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