Trust-Building in a Patient Forum: The Interplay of Professional and Personal Expertise
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
Online discussion forums for patients offer the benefits of community but the risks of misinformation. A physician-moderated forum may help to mitigate this tension. How do both the professional expertise of a physician moderator and the personal, experiential expertise of patients contribute to trust in a forum? A rhetorical analysis of a year of postings in an online Parkinson’s community reveals that both forms of expertise were trusted, demonstrating the possibility for them to complement each other. This study illustrates the broader ways trust is established in patient communities and offers implications for technical communicators as forum designers or moderators.
Publication Title
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Recommended Citation
Bakke, A. (2019). Trust-building in a patient forum: The interplay of professional and personal expertise. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 49(2), 156-182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047281618776222
DOI
10.1177/0047281618776222
Link to Publisher Version (DOI)
Publisher's Copyright and Source
Copyright © 2018 SAGE. Article published by Sage in the Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, volume 49, issue 2, 2019, pages 156-182. Available online: https://doi.org/10.1177/0047281618776222
