دانلود رایگان مقاله به اشتراک گذاری دانش در جوامع سلامت آنلاین

Abstract

Online health communities (OHC) are becoming valuable platforms for patients to communicate and find support. These communities are different from general online communities. The knowledge shared in an OHC can be categorized as either general (public) or specific (private), and each category is shared in vastly different ways. Using the social exchange theory, we propose a benefit vs. cost knowledge sharing model for OHCs. The benefits are mainly based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and the cost includes cognitive and executional costs. We use this benefit vs. cost model to examine how OHC members share general and specific knowledge. Data were collected from 323 users of two well-known OHCs in China and were analyzed using the structural equation model. The results demonstrate that three factors positively impact the sharing of both general and specific knowledge: a sense of self-worth, members’ perceived social support, and reputation enhancement. Another factor, face concern, has a negative influence on specific knowledge sharing and a positive influence on general knowledge sharing. Executional cost only negatively impacts general knowledge sharing, and cognitive cost only negatively impacts specific knowledge sharing. This study of OHCs reveals that personal benefits promote knowledge sharing and costs prohibit it. These impacts vary between general knowledge and specific knowledge sharing.

5.4. Conclusions

This study has provided insights into knowledge sharing in online health communities: to encourage knowledge sharing, it is important to increase benefits and decrease costs for users. This reinforces results from related research in health and knowledge management. In addition, we demonstrate that general knowledge and specific knowledge have different influencing factors, which is relevant to both health informatics literature and health community management. We show that multiple predictors, including Chinese culture, can have a significant impact on knowledge sharing, and we make several recommendations to mitigate concerns and promote knowledge sharing by creating policies that tailor online communities to the specific type of knowledge being shared. Finally, we suggest that efforts to promote knowledge sharing should encourage people to realize their self-worth and gain social support.