Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2019

Trust-Building in a Patient Forum: The Interplay of Professional and Personal Expertise

Abigail Bakke Minnesota State University, Mankato

Abstract

Online discussion forums for patients offer the benefits of community but the risks of misinformation. A physician-moderated forum may help to mitigate this tension. How do both the professional expertise of a physician moderator and the personal, experiential expertise of patients contribute to trust in a forum? A rhetorical analysis of a year of postings in an online Parkinson’s community reveals that both forms of expertise were trusted, demonstrating the possibility for them to complement each other. This study illustrates the broader ways trust is established in patient communities and offers implications for technical communicators as forum designers or moderators.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2019-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0047281618776222
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Cameron (2023)
    Agentive assemblages in online patient spaces
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Cameron (2023)
    Amplifying Diverse Narratives of Social Support in Online Health Design
    Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Bakke (2019)
    Writing for Patients on the Participatory Web: Heuristics for Purpose-Driven Personas
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Singer (2019)
    Embracing Wildcard Sources: Information Literacy in the Age of Internet Health
    College English

References (51) · 17 in this index

  1. 10.1108/09593840410542484
     ↗
  2. Angeli et al. (2018)
    Introduction to the Special Issue: Medical Humanities and/or the Rhetoric of He…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Arduser (2011)
    Warp and Weft: Weaving the Discussion Threads of an Online Community
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. 10.4018/978-1-5225-1072-7.ch005
     ↗
  5. 10.1016/j.pec.2010.05.029
     ↗
Show all 51 →
  1. Burke K. (1973)
    Communication: Ethical and moral issues
  2. De Hertogh L. B. (2015)
    Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology
  3. Derkatch (2012)
    Demarcating Medicine's Boundaries: Constituting and Categorizing in the Journal…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. 10.1177/016224399502000402
     ↗
  5. Fox S. (2008)
    The engaged e-patient population
  6. Frith J. (2014)
    Technical Communication
  7. GALEGHER et al. (1998)
    Legitimacy, Authority, and Community in Electronic Support Groups
    Written Communication
  8. Gigante (2018)
    Argumentation by Self-Model: Missing Methods and Opportunities in the Personal …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  9. 10.1007/s10551-010-0603-1
     ↗
  10. Gurak L. J. (1997)
    Persuasion and privacy in cyberspace: The online protests over Lotus Marketplace and the …
  11. Haas A. (2008)
    Webbing cyberfeminist practice
  12. 10.1080/0965254X.2014.920904
     ↗
  13. Hartelius E. J. (2008)
    The rhetoric of expertise
  14. 10.1177/146144804044331
     ↗
  15. 10.1080/10810730.2014.894596
     ↗
  16. Kenzie et al. (2018)
    Teaching Writing for the Health Professions: Disciplinary Intersections and Ped…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  17. Kopelson K. (2009)
    JAC
  18. 10.2196/jmir.4103
     ↗
  19. 10.1007/s10912-014-9278-4
     ↗
  20. Lerner (2018)
    Medical Narratives in Rhetorical Context: Ethically Researching Anti-Vaccinationists
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  21. 10.2307/2578601
     ↗
  22. Mackiewicz (2010)
    Assertions of Expertise in Online Product Reviews
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  23. Mackiewicz (2010)
    The Co-construction of Credibility in Online Product Reviews
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  24. Meloncon et al. (2015)
    Special issue introduction: Charting an emerging field: the rhetorics of health…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  25. Moturu, S. T., Liu, H. & Johnson, W. G. (2008). Trust evaluation in health information on the World Wide Web.…
     ↗
  26. Parkinson’s Foundation. (2018). Understanding Parkinson’s . Retri…
  27. 10.4135/9781452233277.n11
     ↗
  28. 10.1111/1467-9566.00339
     ↗
  29. Reed (2018)
    Building on Bibliography: Toward Useful Categorization of Research in Rhetorics…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  30. Rheingold H. (1993)
    The virtual community: Homesteading on the electronic frontier
  31. 10.1016/S0963-8687(02)00021-5
     ↗
  32. Scott et al. (2013)
    The Rhetorics of Health and Medicine: Inventional Possibilities for Scholarship…
    Poroi
  33. Scott (2016)
    Boundary Work and the Construction of Scientific Authority in the Vaccines-Auti…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  34. Scott et al. (2015)
    Rhetoric, Ebola, and Vaccination: A Conversation Among Scholars
    Poroi
  35. Segal (2009)
    Internet Health and the 21st-Century Patient: A Rhetorical View
    Written Communication
  36. 10.1504/IJWBC.2010.035840
     ↗
  37. Sillence, E. & Briggs, P. (2015). Trust and engagement in online health: A timeline approach. In S. S. Sundar…
  38. 10.1177/1049732311405685
     ↗
  39. Spoel (2008)
    Communicating Values, Valuing Community through Health-Care Websites: Midwifery…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  40. 10.1136/bmj.322.7284.444
     ↗
  41. Swarts (2014)
    The Trouble with Networks: Implications for the Practice of Help Documentation
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  42. Swarts J. (2015)
    Technical Communication
  43. Sztompka P. (1999)
    Trust: A sociological theory
  44. Top Health Sites. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.alexa.com/topsites/category/Health.
  45. 10.1080/10410230802229738
     ↗
  46. 10.4324/9780203938942
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 12 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related articles

  1. Computers and Composition Sep 2026
    When writing students design AI chatbots: Integrating design thinking as a critical AI literacy practice ↗
    Jialei Jiang; Gustav Verhulsdonck
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism first-year composition writing pedagogy technical communication qualitative research literacy studies community literacy
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    Canon to Code: Rhetorical Rulemaking for Generative AI Content Audits and Governance ↗
    Miriam F. Williams
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism assessment technical communication artificial intelligence
  3. Computers and Composition Mar 2026
    Shifting rhetorical agency in multimodal UX composition with AI: Sharing rhetorical authority with technologies ↗
    Nupoor Ranade; Daniel L. Hocutt
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy technical communication multimodality
  4. Pedagogy Oct 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy advanced composition creative writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions archival research multimodality artificial intelligence literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies literary studies editorial matter
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2025
    A Comparative Rhetorical Analysis of Trump and Biden's Climate Change Speeches: Framing Strategies in Politics ↗
    Shyam Pandey
    rhetorical criticism argument technical communication