Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions

• Purpose of Study: Evaluate the evidence of the effects of health and social outcomes of peer to peer communities and electronic self support groups.
  
• Years of study:  2004
  
• Study Design: Systematic review, 38 studies selected for review.
  
• Outcomes: Various measures of utilization and clinical outcomes.
  

• Intervention: Web based discussion forms, chat rooms, voice bulletin board systems along with complex interventions that included a virtual community as an adjunct to a broader intervention that often included structured psycho-educational components or treatment programs.
• Evaluation Method: Varied across studies.
• Healthcare Utilization: Mixed findings were reported among three studies measuring health care use, with one study reporting fewer phone calls to doctors and another reporting more phone calls to doctors. A third study reported no change in the number of doctor visits. One study reported fewer hospital admissions during the intervention period.
• Quality of Care and Patient Safety Outcome: Three of twelve studies reported improvements in measures of depression while results were more mixed regarding the effects on social support. One of five studies reported significant improvement in glycosylated hemoglobin. The authors concluded that no robust evidence exists on the effects of consumer led peer-to-peer communities, partly because peer-to-peer communities have been evaluated only in conjunction with more complex interventions or involvement with health professionals.