This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.

Rewarding for
you and us
Defeat Diabetes Foundation

Defeat Diabetes
Foundation
150 153rd Ave,
Suite 300
Madeira Beach, FL 33708

Internet Boards Benefit Diabetics

Posted: Thursday, December 08, 2005

A Joslin Diabetes Center study in Boston indicates diabetics benefit through participation in Internet-based diabetic discussion groups. Researchers examined the impact of Joslin's Online Discussion Boards -- Internet forums in which people with diabetes can share thoughts and experiences.

The boards (at http://www.joslin.org/) allow people to post questions or comments about their diabetes-related concerns. The postings are moderated by a team of specialists, including physicians, dietitians and psychologists.

"There's a strong therapeutic effect from posting on the board," said lead investigator John Zrebiec, a Joslin clinical social worker and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Zrebiec tracked more than 330,000 board visits during a six-year period. In 1999 and again in 2004, satisfaction surveys were sent to some of the boards' registered users.

Researchers say the study suggests Internet-based groups are particularly valuable since they allow people to come together at any time in a non-threatening venue for discussing particularly sensitive concerns.

Source: Diabetes In Control: