Journal article
The Role of Seed Users in Nurturing an Online Health Community for Smoking Cessation Among People With HIV/AIDS
Annals of behavioral medicine, Vol.58(2), pp.122-130
01/31/2024
DOI: 10.1093/abm/kaad063
PMCID: PMC10831217
PMID: 37931160
Abstract
Abstract Background To nurture a new online community for health behavior change, a fruitful strategy is to recruit “seed users” to create content and encourage participation. Purpose This study evaluated the impact of support from seed users in an online community for smoking cessation among people living with HIV/AIDS and explored the linguistic characteristics of their interactions. Methods These secondary analyses examined data from a randomized trial of a smoking cessation intervention for HIV+ smokers delivered via an online health community (OHC). The analytic sample comprised n = 188 participants randomized to the intervention arm who participated in the community. Independent variables were OHC interactions categorized by participant interlocutor type (study participant, seed user) and interaction type (active, passive). The primary outcome was biochemically verified 7-day abstinence from cigarettes measured 3 months post-randomization; 30-day abstinence was examined for robustness. Results Logistic regression models showed that participants’ interactions with seed users were a positive predictor of abstinence but interactions with other study participants were not. Specifically, the odds of abstinence increased as the number of posts received from seed users increased. Exploratory linguistic analyses revealed that seed users wrote longer comments which included more frequent use of “we” and “you” pronouns and that study participants users used more first-person singular pronouns (“I”). Conclusions Seeding a community at its inception and nurturing its growth through seed users may be a scalable way to foster behavior change among OHC members. These findings have implications for the design and management of an OHC capable of promoting smoking cessation.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Role of Seed Users in Nurturing an Online Health Community for Smoking Cessation Among People With HIV/AIDS
- Creators
- Xiangyu Wang - University of IowaKang Zhao - University of IowaMichael S Amato - American Legacy FoundationCassandra A Stanton - Westat (United States)Jonathan Shuter - Albert Einstein College of MedicineAmanda L Graham - American Legacy Foundation
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Annals of behavioral medicine, Vol.58(2), pp.122-130
- DOI
- 10.1093/abm/kaad063
- PMID
- 37931160
- PMCID
- PMC10831217
- NLM abbreviation
- Ann Behav Med
- ISSN
- 0883-6612
- eISSN
- 1532-4796
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100000002, name: National Institutes of Health; DOI: 10.13039/100000054, name: National Cancer Institute; DOI: 10.13039/100008893, name: University of Iowa
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 11/01/2023
- Date published
- 01/31/2024
- Academic Unit
- Business Analytics
- Record Identifier
- 9984508060302771
Metrics
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