The making of expert patients: the role of online health communities in arthritis self-management.

Chronic disease is an epidemic, one that requires patients to play an active role in managing symptoms and disease affect. This study used ethnomethodology (N = 8231) to understand how patients with arthritis use online health communities to exchange disease-related information to better manage their chronic disease. The findings show that online health communities facilitate self-management behaviors through the exchange of health information and disease experience. These online health communities act as self-management programs led by peers with the same chronic disease through the exchange of health information based on experience, working to improve members' health literacy related to arthritis.