Social support in an internet forum for patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (LES)

Internet forums represent a useful but understudied resource to understand psychosocial aspects of living with SLE. This study was aimed to describe the demand/supply of social support through the internet in relation with the description of personal illness experiences. All the posts (118) from an Italian forum for SLE patients were collected and analyzed combining qualitative content analysis with statistical textual analysis. Results showed different purposes for posts: starting new relationships, seeking information, receiving emotional support, giving a contribution. Lexical analysis identified three ways of describing patients experiences. Discussion focuses on the relationship between the requested/offered support and SLE experiences.