Special Online Consulting for Patients with Eating Disorders and Their Relatives: Analysis of User Characteristics and E-Mail Content

Abstract

In the treatment of chronic diseases, programs that use the internet as a medium are becoming more and more important as a complement to classical intervention techniques. Since 1998, a non-profit information and online consulting service for patients with eating disorders and their friends and relatives (www.ab-server.de) has existed. This was established by members of the Deutsche Forschungsinitiative Essstörungen e.V. (DFE) [German Research Initiative for Eating Disorders] and members of the Clinic of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Germany. For the present study, 2,176 e-mail requests from users of the online consultation service were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in order to better understand the differences between different types and groups of users. The analysis was related to the social field of the person requesting the consultation, the type of disorder reported, and the content of the e-mail request. Three main user groups could be identified: people who described themselves as having an eating disorder (57.2%), people who were related socially to the affected person (32.4%), and interested persons (9.8%). The consulting service was predominantly used by persons suffering from bulimia nervosa or their families and friends (63.1%). One third (33.3%) of the posted e-mails were related to behavioral patterns in dealing with the illness and the affected person. They were followed by inquiries for information about the disease (18.7%) and by those seeking help in finding specialized clinics/therapists and places in therapies. The increasing use of the online consulting service indicates that there is a substantial need for information and help in persons with eating disorders and in their relatives, who are able to easily contact professionals using this online service. Online consulting has a high potential for complementary care of affected people.

Linguistic analyses of natural written language: Unobtrusive assessment of cognitive style in eating disorders

“…Although many patients with AN have a fear of disclosing personal or ED-related information, 33 anecdotal evidence suggests that individuals with EDrelated problems might find it easier to disclose their experiences on the Internet. 34 Anonymity and confidentiality help individuals to self-disclose in their writing, as practiced in many of the writing experiments. 1 This might be especially true in ED.…”

Online discussion groups for bulimia nervosa: An inductive approach to Internet‐based communication between patients

“…8 The anonymity of the Internet eases the search for psychological help, especially for persons with eating disorders who are often afraid or ashamed to speak openly about their illness. [9][10][11] Another advantage of Internet communication is its public character. The written contributions are freely available on the Internet, which means that they are also available to people who cannot or do not want to actively take part in the discussion: socalled lurkers.…”

Struktur und Inhalte von Beratungstexten bei Online-Beratung im Bereich Essstörungen

“…Darüber hinaus wurde das Potenzial von Online-Beratungen für die Nachsorge und die Gestaltung von Übergängen im Versorgungssystem bereits von Kliniken umgesetzt [11]. Internetbasierte Interventionsangebote haben sich insbesondere für Essstörungen verbreitet, weil diese Patientengruppe sehr internetaffin ist und diese Projekte daher stark akzeptiert werden [3][4][5][6][12][13][14][15][16]. Die zunehmende Bedeutung des Internets für die Patientenversorgung stellt jedoch auch Fachleute in anderen Bereichen vor die Aufgabe, Wissen und Interventionsmethodik unter den besonderen Bedingungen der computervermittelten Kommunikation anwenden zu müssen [1].…”

“…Der Ansatz der Online-Beratung des ab-server ist sekundärpräventiv ausgerichtet und zielt auf die Ressourcenaktivierung der Ratsuchenden ab [24]. Parallel wurden Textanalysen der Anfragetexte der Ratsuchenden [3,15] zur Identifizierung von Nutzergruppen und Anfrageinhalten sowie Nutzerbefragungen durchgeführt [4,5,16]. Die größten Nutzergruppen der Online-Beratung bilden weibliche Jugendliche oder junge Erwachsene, die von bulimischen Symptomen berichten, sowie FreundInnen oder Familienangehörige Betroffener [15].…”

“…Parallel wurden Textanalysen der Anfragetexte der Ratsuchenden [3,15] zur Identifizierung von Nutzergruppen und Anfrageinhalten sowie Nutzerbefragungen durchgeführt [4,5,16]. Die größten Nutzergruppen der Online-Beratung bilden weibliche Jugendliche oder junge Erwachsene, die von bulimischen Symptomen berichten, sowie FreundInnen oder Familienangehörige Betroffener [15]. Es werden vorrangig Sachfragen zur Erkrankung gestellt, nach Verhaltensregeln im Zusammenhang mit der Essstörung / dem Betroffenen gefragt und Informationen zu Behandlern / Behandlungsmethoden erbeten [15].…”