Improving peer online forums (iPOF)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Realist evaluation of online mental health communities to improve policy and practice
IRAS ID
314029
Contact name
Fiona Lobban
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancaster University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
When people experience mental health difficulties, they often look for help online. This searching will take them to forums where people with a shared interest or concern can “post” messages to others and get their advice and support.
We aim to find out: how online mental health forums work; why some work better than others; and why some people find them helpful and others do not. Based on what we find, we will work with stakeholders to develop tools to improve the design and support from online mental health forums.
In work-stream 1 (1-18 months), we will pull together relevant knowledge from research literature. We will also interview people who currently use, support, or have studied online forums. Based on what we find, we will develop some specific theories about how online forums work.
In work-stream 2 (6-30 months), we will test and refine our theories in a range of different mental health forums. We will use surveys to measure impacts for different groups of forum members, and interviews to understand the experiences of forum users and moderators. We will also analyse what is happening in the text of the forum conversations.
In work-stream 3 (2-34 months), we will use the theories to co-design tools and training designed to improve peer online forums. We will work with our Expert Groups to ensure these are designed and shared in ways that make them easy to find and use.REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/WM/0132
Date of REC Opinion
13 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion