University of Sussex
Browse
ECIS2018-MedicineAfrica-RiP FINAL.pdf (301.09 kB)

Members' commitment in online health communities: the case of MedicineAfrica

Download (301.09 kB)
conference contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 12:36 authored by Petros Chamakiotis, Niki Panteli
Online communities have gained multidisciplinary attention in both the academic and practitioner literature. Some of this literature has taken a focus on online communities in the healthcare context (aka online health communities), with recent studies highlighting their potential to contribute to social value creation, for example by reducing the divide between regional and other health disparities. In this research-in-progress paper, we present a case study we conducted with MedicineAfrica; an online health community with the aim of improving healthcare education in countries with fragile healthcare systems. Based on interviews, online observations, and documentary analysis, our study explores: (a) the factors that enhance volunteer-members’ commitment to the online community, resulting in them staying longer than they initially expected; and (b) the impact of members’ commitment on the roles they undertake on the online platform. It is found that, with increased commitment, members of online health communities tend to undertake not just more roles but roles with leading responsibilities as well as take on initiatives for new online activities. We discuss our preliminary analysis so far, which is followed by the study’s implications and further research.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Proceedings of ECIS 2018

Event name

European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2018): "Beyond Digitalization — Facets of Socio-Technical Change"

Event location

Portsmouth, UK

Event type

conference

Event date

June 23-28

Place of publication

Portsmouth, UK

Department affiliated with

  • Management Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-05-01

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-07-31

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-04-30

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC