"Not Lazy and Crazy". Conceptualizing the Voices of People With Thyroid Disease on Social Media

• In Event: HIGH-DENSITY: Health Communication in Social Media

Abstract

This abstract describes the first part of a PhD project examining the interpersonal health communication of people with thyroid disease on social media. Drawing on a netnography, issue-based advocacy pages and patient support groups (Epstein, 2008) on Facebook were examined. The research relates to the theme of ICA 2018 by asking how collective voices are expressed in the semi-public sphere, and what strategies, themes and narratives are displayed. The results extend findings in the health activism (Zoller, 2015) and thyroid disease domain and are valuable for different health communication audiences.

Author

• Judith Schossboeck, City University of Hong Kong