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Introduction: Online Health Forums (OHFs) allow patient learning and therapeutic patient education (TPE). To reinforce the pedagogical dimension of these tools, it is necessary to understand the learning processes and conditions involved in OHFs. A potential framework for the analysis of this phenomenon is self-directed learning (SDL)., Objective: The objective is to propose a framework for the analysis of learning and TPE in OHFs, based on existing SDL theories. This could allow to identify the learning characteristics of OHFs and to identify potential implications for TPE., Method: A narrative review was conducted on the basis of 40 publications whose analysis through three categories (elements of SDL's definition, learner role and environmental impact) allowed to identify the explanatory theories of SDL., Results: The main result is a proposition for an analytical framework to examine OHFs according to their self-formative characteristics and, then, discuss their links with TPE programs. Indeed, similar principles between SDL and TPE are emerging such as the identification of needs, the autonomy of patients/learners, and the place of Self Efficacy. These similarities highlight the potential complementarity between OHFs and SDL., Conclusion: SDL allows us to understand how Internet users learn on OHFs. Although links between SDL, OHFs and TPE are identified, a better understanding of the learning modes used in OHFs and their functioning according to the user profile could clarify their learning potential and their empowering effect.

Exchanges between diabetic patients on discussion fora permit to study their understanding of their disorder, their behavior and needs when facing health problems. When analyzing these exchanges and behavior, it is necessary to collect information on user profile. We present an approach combining lexicon and super-vised classifiers for the identification of age and gender of contributors, their disorders and relation between contributor and patient. According to parameters of the method, precision is between 100% for gender and 53.48% for disorders.

Objective: To give a comprehensive overview of the factors that influence the transition from pediatric services to adult care, and to conceptualize a relevant education program., Method: An evaluation grid was used to analyze the literature and classify factors depending on whether they were related to the patients, to the health care organization, to health care personnel, to the interaction between medical staff and patient, or to the illness and its treatment., Results: We based our analysis on a selection of 20 publications. The following factors were identified and classified in an integrative framework: self-management skills, trust in adult care, the feeling of self-efficacy, social support, the patient's gender and social position, the trust between child carers and adult carers, interdisciplinary cooperation, and the medical staff's consideration of the patient's projects., Conclusions and Practice Implications: The current analysis makes it possible to formulate educational aims and to design a way of integrating them to a transition plan. However, the collected studies mainly focus on knowledge of the illness, on treatment, and on the health care system. Psychosocial dimensions at play at the time of the transition - such as identity development - are not sufficiently explored in the research., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)