| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 516138 | International Journal of Medical Informatics | 2015 | 11 Pages |
•The study unveils types of social support messages offered and requested in online communities of FB autism groups.•Informational and emotional supports are two types of support that is highly exchanged.•Exchanged messages demonstrate very strong presence of parents/relatives of autistic children as compared to the other user roles.•The finding provides useful input for programme development and intervention services by health professionals and service providers.•FB groups value FB as a convenient platform for sharing personal experiences and seeking advice in raising of or caring for children with ASD.
PurposeThis study examined the types of social support messages exchanged between parents and/or caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) who communicate via Facebook (FB); it studies two autism support groups: Autism Malaysia (AM) and Autism Children Club (ACA).MethodA total of 3637 messages including both postings (381) and comments (3256) were gathered from August to November 2013. The study employed a deductive content-analysis approach. The qualitative data were analyzed for social support themes adapted from the Social Support Behavior Code (SSBC). Before collecting the data, email was sent to the FB groups’ moderators to gain formal consent from the members.ResultThe finding indicated that the highest percentage of messages offered dealt with Informational support (30.7%) followed by Emotional support (27.8%). Network and Esteem support messages were responsible for 20.97% and 20.2%, respectively. Tangible Assistance was the least frequent category (0.4%). A majority of these messages discussed and addressed challenges and difficulties associated with caring and raising ASD children, as well as issues such as children's social lives and self-care routines.ConclusionUnderstandings of how FB is used to seek social support could impact supporting and maintaining effective communication among parents and/or caregivers of children with ASDs. This information could also improve approaches used by health professionals in developing, improving and evaluating social support systems for parents/caregivers.
