Abstract:

Internet has been reported as one of the most important place that patients with SCI share their experiences. The literature suggests that patients having SCI have some online experiences on web as helpful during their remaining lives. However, there are only a few studies about the communication of Turkish patients of spinal cord injury (SCI). This exploratory, qualitative netnographic study was aimed to reveal the experiences of a virtual community comprised patients with SCI. While netnographic analysis offers a potentially suitable approach for various virtual communities, this study applied a netnography approach and was based on data from a SCI community. The results of this study indicated that six main forums that the patients can mainly involve in the forums and suggested the need for changes of virtual community perception and group interaction experiences. It is also found that interest in the medical news relating to the hope of recovery was the most important factor.

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