Culverhouse, Kerry (2019) Online Communities: Exploring Social Support Experiences of Type 1 Diabetes Parent Caregivers. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
More people than ever are seeking support from specialised online communities on social media platforms such as Facebook, this being especially so for those managing chronic health conditions. In Australia, parents of children with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) a chronic health condition that requires a high level of management are using online communities for social support and to inform treatment. This study aimed to explore the experiences of T1D caregivers in online communities. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted using video teleconferencing and analysed using thematic analysis. Four major themes were identified: (a) start of the journey (The overwhelming nature of diagnosis and the lack of knowledge about T1D); (b) online presence (choices of online connection and type of engagement and finding ‘fit’); (c) need sits parallel to circumstance (life situation generates and directs social support seeking); (d) further on in the journey (the experience of change in support and the time/lifestyle considerations around online community access). The significance of this research will extend the knowledge of how parents that have children with high medical needs use online health communities. This knowledge can be used to inform online group administrators and paediatric health professionals so parent caregivers can get the most benefit out of online communities as well as identifying potential areas for future research in this emerging field.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Tanya Machin |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Aug 2025 04:05 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Aug 2025 04:05 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | online communities; type 1 diabetes; social media; social support; chronic health condition; parents; thematic analysis |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52243 |
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