Why would a patient want to create a blog? What might they gain from this?

As I consider this question I am reminded that we are all patients or clients at some point. Each of us is a patient. So, I answer these questions personally.
Writing and journaling are thought provoking and insightful activities. They can be private affairs meant only for the writer to gain a sense of growth and an ability to reflect upon a journey or trial in his or her life. Blogging allows for that reflection, but is a non-private affair. Blogging allows an individual to create and write a thought and then throw it out to the world for viewing upon the internet. I consider blogging as a sort of public journaling.

Perhaps having a blog can put an individual under timeline/project pressure to complete such a writing and documenting accomplishment. I can guess or assume why a patient would want to create a blog, and then continue to blog. However, I am sure that there are millions of reasons for patients to blog; and perhaps there are many reasons for one individual patient to turn on their PC and open up for the world to read. My greatest reason to blog would be to document a journey and to allow those people I care about, and those who are interested, to watch my journey. I would also want to somehow make sure that my illness would not be in vain---and I believe blogging could help me share my human experience of illness with others. I am sure by doing this I would be able to gain a sense of peace, growth and accomplishment. I would also like to continue with my habit of educating those around me and sharing my life experiences with others. This would also give me and my coping with my illness a sense of purpose.

Why would a health care provider create a blog?

I think blogs can be very educational. Even I have used them in the past to get a better understanding of how individuals and families are able to cope with and experience certain illnesses and certain health care situations. The personal experiences of having two friends diagnosed with cancer at the ages of 36 and 38 this summer, having my brother diagnosed with DMII and HTN, and having witnessed my 72 year-old mother-in-law’s health deteriorate have made consider the benefit of blogs to patients and families. I think blogging regarding chronic illness, health care coverage, prevention and affordability of treatment would be very "relatable" to so many different individuals and families. A great sense of understanding by these patients that they are not alone in a struggle and that others have survived or prepared for a worse outcome could be derived from blogging. Much can be learned from the journaled and blogged experiences of others, especially insight into the unknown.

I have also found that when health care professionals experience illness and then share that experience with the public, then that illness is talked about more and better understanding can be achieved within a society. A health care provider could also consider using a blog to provide a discussion forum and to educate patients (Hebda & Czar, 2009, p. 110) . As a health care provider I would consider blogging about my own illness, or of an illness of a loved one. I think that this could be considered interesting and "relatable" to many people in need of information and comfort when faced with illness (either of themselves or of a loved one).


What are ethical considerations when blogging on a public website, such as we've used for this class?

There are many ethical considerations when blogging on a public website. My greatest concerns would be privacy and liability. I am an individual who enjoys what little privacy I have, thus needing to open up and share my thoughts and experiences with anyone in the public is frightening. What if my insurance company discovered I have a pre-existing condition via my blog. I always wonder if Big Brother is watching me or reading this.

I also would hate to inspire some individual to make a wrong decision. I am sure there would be such a risk for any health care provider who opened up and attempted to educate the public. An individual could forego an appointment for a physical exam and miss being diagnosed with some awful disease due to self-diagnosis via information from a blog written by a health care provider.

And what if my writing offended those around me? What if a patient assumed I was blogging about them, and felt their trust had been violated? What if someone took my work and then copied it and then used it for a project of which I would not want to be involved? What if someone stole my work and then took credit for it?
Thus, blogging makes me too nervous. I appreciate that blogs exist, and even follow a friend’s blog regularly. Yet, there are too many reasons for me not want to create and continue my own. Privacy, confidentiality, security, and liability are too many reasons to kill the blogger in me.


References
Hebda, T., Czar, P. (2009). Handbook of Informatics for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall.