This project is being undertaken as part of an MSc degree within the Institute of Work, Health & Organisations (I-WHO), which is a postgraduate institute of applied psychology at the University of Nottingham.
The overall purpose of the project is to investigate how the use of online support groups affects users feelings about themselves and their illness, and how this impacts on the doctor/patient relationship. More specifically it is concerned with if and how users become empowered, whether users feel comfortable using online information in consultations with healthcare professionals and whether using a support group has had any effect on the doctor - patient relationship.
The purpose of this questionnaire is to gather information about how using online support groups makes you feel, and whether it has changed/affected the doctor - patient relationship
In completing the questionnaire, please be honest and frank; there are no right or wrong answers. Feedback will be in the form of a report that includes a summary of the results which will be sent to the moderator of this online support group so it can be posted. Any personal comments from the returned questionnaires that are used in project reports or academic papers will be quoted anonymously and anything that might identify you will be removed.
This questionnaire asks about your own experiences. Completion and return are entirely voluntary. If you decide you do not wish to continue at any point just close the browser window. If you should decide that you do not wish to participate after completing the questionnaire please get in contact with Kiera Bartlett (lwxykb@nottingham.ac.uk) to have your data deleted. Should you experience any form of distress while completing the questionnaire, you should approach your general practitioner.
We hope that you will find the questionnaire interesting and will assist us by completing it. After you have completed the questionnaire, please press submit to send it to the research team at Nottingham.
Thank you for your time and assistance. If you require more information about the study, please contact any member of the research team below.
Research team Contact details
Kiera Bartlett lwxykb@nottingham.ac.uk
Dr Neil Coulson Neil.Coulson@nottingham.ac.uk