Abstract
Hepatitis C (HC) is a disease that worsens insidiously for decades and with high recurrence and chronicity rates. Its treatment with viricidal cocktail causes violent side reactions that compromise the well-being of patients, mainly because they do not know how to deal with these effects. We study the posts of a virtual community (VC) using content analysis techniques guided by word clouds (WC). The terms MEDICINE and TREATMENT was pointed out by the WC and the reading and analysis of the material showed TREATMENT as a threat, risk and aggression to reduce quality of survival; the “serological imperative” as a categorical and inexorable determinant of clinical decisions; anguish and resignation during the follow-up between relapses; and time pacing constituting “serological biographies”. We conclude that distant patients appropriate the Web in a gregarious way in VCs, leaving a rich therapeutic narrative whose analysis represents a relevant supplementary resource for the identification of underestimated demands for care practices.
Keywords:
Hepatitis C; carriers of chronic diseases; virtual communities; health communication; Internet and health
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