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dc.contributor.authorOwens, Christabel
dc.contributor.authorSharkey, S
dc.contributor.authorSmithson, Janet
dc.contributor.authorHewis, E
dc.contributor.authorEmmens, Tobit
dc.contributor.authorFord, Tamsin
dc.contributor.authorJones, R
dc.date.accessioned2015-04-08T08:23:24Z
dc.date.issued2015-02-01
dc.description.abstractBackground: Online communities are known to break down barriers between supposed experts and non-experts and to promote collaborative learning and 'radical trust' among members. Young people who self-harm report difficulties in communicating with health professionals, and vice versa. Aim: We sought to bring these two groups together online to see how well they could communicate with each other about self-harm and its management, and whether they could agree on what constituted safe and relevant advice. Methods: We allocated 77 young people aged 16-25 with experience of self-harm and 18 recently/nearly qualified professionals in relevant health-care disciplines to three separate Internet discussion forums. The forums contained different proportions of professionals to young people (none; 25%; 50% respectively) to allow us to observe the effect of the professionals on online interaction. Results: The young people were keen to share their lived experience of self-harm and its management with health professionals. They engaged in lively discussion and supported one another during emotional crises. Despite registering to take part, health professionals did not actively participate in the forums. Reported barriers included lack of confidence and concerns relating to workload, private-professional boundaries, role clarity, duty of care and accountability. In their absence, the young people built a vibrant lay community, supported by site moderators. Conclusions: Health professionals may not yet be ready to engage with young people who self-harm and to exchange knowledge and experience in an anonymous online setting. Further work is needed to understand and overcome their insecurities.en_GB
dc.description.sponsorshipNIHRen_GB
dc.identifier.citationVol. 18 (1), pp. 81 - 94en_GB
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/hex.12011
dc.identifier.grantnumberRC-PG-0407-10098en_GB
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10871/16688
dc.language.isoenen_GB
dc.publisherWileyen_GB
dc.relation.urlhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23075133en_GB
dc.rights.embargoreasonPublisher's policyen_GB
dc.rights© 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.en_GB
dc.subjectCollaborative learningen_GB
dc.subjectEngagementen_GB
dc.subjectInterneten_GB
dc.subjectOnline communitiesen_GB
dc.subjectSelf-harmen_GB
dc.subjectYoung peopleen_GB
dc.titleBuilding an online community to promote communication and collaborative learning between health professionals and young people who self-harm: an exploratory studyen_GB
dc.typeArticleen_GB
dc.identifier.issn1369-6513
dc.descriptionThis is the accepted version of the article, which has been published in final form at doi: 10.1111/hex.12011.en_GB
dc.identifier.journalHealth Expectationsen_GB


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