A comparison of different survey periods in online surveys of persons with eating disorders and their relatives.

Evaluations of Internet-based interventions offered to patients with mental or psychosomatic illnesses are mostly carried out in the form of online surveys. This study tested whether modifying this time interval brings about changes in the respondents' response behavior and the make-up of the sample. Two survey strategies were compared: a postblock survey (with a variable time interval between the Internet-based intervention and the online survey) and a postspot survey (time interval standardized to 90 days). In the postspot survey, it was possible to prove a higher response rate (39.9%) than in the postblock survey (28.0%) as well as a higher number of questionnaires completed correctly and in full. No differences were identified in the basic characteristics of the random samples. It was possible to demonstrate that the quality of the online survey could be improved by standardizing the length of time. Standardization of the time difference implies a controllable degree of influence on the quality of the evaluations.

A comparison of different survey periods in online surveys of persons with eating disorders and their relatives.

Evaluations of Internet-based interventions offered to patients with mental or psychosomatic illnesses are mostly carried out in the form of online surveys. Up until now, the methods used in carrying out these evaluations have seldom been systematically investigated. This study tested whether modifying this time interval brings about changes in the respondents' response behavior and the make-up of the sample. Two survey strategies were compared: a post-block survey (with a variable time interval between the Internet-based intervention and the online survey) and a post-spot survey (time interval standardised to 90 days). In the post-spot survey it was possible to prove a higher response rate (39.9%) than in the post-block survey (28.0%) as well as a higher number of questionnaires completed correctly and in full. No differences were identified in the basic characteristics of the random samples. It was possible to demonstrate that the quality of the online survey could be improved by standardising the length of time. Standardisation of the time difference implies a controllable degree of influence on the quality of the evaluations.

Online discussion groups for bulimia nervosa: an inductive approach to Internet-based communication between patients.

OBJECTIVE: Online discussion forums are often used by people with eating disorders. METHOD: This study analyses 2,072 threads containing a total of 14,903 postings from an unmoderated German "prorecovery" forum for persons suffering from bulimia nervosa (www.ab-server.de) during the period from October 2004 to May 2006. The threads were inductively analyzed for underlying structural types, and the various types found were then analyzed for differences in temporal and quantitative parameters. RESULTS: Communication in the online discussion forum occurred in three types of thread: (1) problem-oriented threads (78.8% of threads), (2) communication-oriented threads (15.3% of threads), and (3) metacommunication threads (2.6% of threads). Metacommunication threads contained significantly more postings than problem-oriented and communication-oriented threads, and they were viewed significantly more often. Moreover, there are temporal differences between the structural types. CONCLUSION: Topics relating to active management of the disorder receive great attention in prorecovery forums.

Special online consulting for patients with eating disorders and their relatives: analysis of user characteristics and E-mail content.

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.

[Structure and contents of online counselor's responses in the field of eating disorders]. / Struktur und Inhalte von Beratungstexten bei Online-Beratung im Bereich Essstörungen.

OBJECTIVE: The importance of online counselling for many areas of health care has been increasing over the last years. Nevertheless, there is a lack of systematic research on the quality and specifics of the therapeutic intervention. METHODS: n = 1056 responses written by online counsellors between 12 / 2007 and 11 / 2008 were qualitatively analyzed regarding content and frequencies. RESULTS: Within a generalized counselling structure that contains greeting, mirroring, intervention and closure, further structural aspects could be determined and linked to the counselling goals. CONCLUSIONS: The study's results serve the purpose of creating a better theoretical foundation for online counselling in health care.

[Online-consulting for eating disorders--analysis of users and contents]. / Onlineberatung bei Essstörungen--Analysen zu Nutzergruppen und Inhalten.

OBJECTIVE: Since 1998, the online information and consulting server for patients with eating disorders and their relatives (www.ab-server.de) offers an online consulting service. METHODS: 2176 e-mails were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. RESULTS: The symptom descriptions refer mostly to bulimia nervosa (63.1%). People mainly asked for behaviour patterns in dealing with the illness or with an affected person (33.3%) as well as for information about the illness (18.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The low threshold and professional online consulting service is highly accepted by the target group.