A new Health Union national survey, Skin Cancer In America 2017, reveals that patients often struggle with the shock of diagnosis and fear of recurrence once treated. The survey of more than 900 individuals diagnosed with skin cancer was released in conjunction with the launch of the newest Health Union online community, Skin Cancer.net.

Patients and Caregivers Can Benefit from New Online Community – An accurate diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease is often complicated and delayed by an array of symptoms resembling other conditions, according to a new survey from Health Union. The survey involved more than 1,100 individuals currently living with Parkinson’s disease and was released through its newest online community, ParkinsonsDisease.net. The survey finds patients are frustrated in coping with and treating a complex condition that encompasses many diverse symptoms.

New survey finds IBD patients often suffer from misdiagnosis and pain: IBD In America 2017, a national survey by Health Union of more than 4,000 individuals diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (UC), reveals many people with these conditions struggle with fatigue, pain, and other often invisible symptoms that affect many aspects of daily life. The survey, released through Health Union’s online community, CrohnsDisease.com, also finds that patients are often initially misdiagnosed. Many report struggling to find an effective treatment, but are hopeful for future treatment options.

IBS In America 2017, a national survey by Health Union of more than 1,300 individuals who have experienced Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) symptoms, reveals many people initially chose to do nothing about symptoms and often received an improper diagnosis. The survey, released through Health Union’s online community, IrritableBowelSyndrome.net, also finds patients are unsatisfied with their health care professionals (HCPs), struggle with negative feelings, and a majority are also diagnosed with other health conditions.

Taking on the newly created role of Senior Vice President, Insights, Anna McClafferty has joined Health Union’s leadership team, where she will be responsible for driving the growth of the company’s Insights business.

T2D Lifestyle, a national survey by Health Union of more than 400 individuals living with type 2 diabetes (T2D), reveals that patients not only struggle with commonly understood complications, but also numerous lesser known ones that people do not associate with diabetes. Managing diabetes on a daily basis can also result in emotional stress.

Last Thursday, Medical Marketing & Media (MM&M) celebrated its annual Awards Gala, which recognizes and champions both creativity and effectiveness in healthcare marketing and communications. Health Union was awarded Silver in Best Healthcare Consumer Media Brand for its patient-centric platform, MultipleSclerosis.net. Judges were impressed by new features, such as customized content based on patient personas, which helped drive huge increases in monthly site visits, registered members, and media revenues, as well as monthly Facebook reach (1.2 million) and engagement.

Migraine in America 2016, a national survey by Health Union of more than 3,900 individuals experiencing migraines, reveals that patients have numerous treatment options, but are often dissatisfied with results. A summary infographic is also available. Many reported difficulty receiving a diagnosis, particularly when young. In addition, respondents noted feeling isolated and stigmatized due to the condition.

At Health Union, our online health communities: Migraine.com,MultipleSclerosis.net, RheumatoidArthitis.net, Type2Diabetes.com,HepatitisC.net, COPD.net, CrohnsDisease.com, Asthma.net, andIrritableBowelSyndrome.net, have experienced mobile traffic more than close to double that of desktops and laptops. While a lot of reasons could play into this, such as the demographics of our communities or the role of promotions of our content, recent trends regarding mobile and PC devices show we’re not the only ones to experience such an increase in mobile usage. Recent research has shown an explosion of mobile use.

Today, MM&M announced finalists for its annual awards, which recognize and champion both creativity and effectiveness in healthcare marketing and communications. Health Union is proud to be among the finalists for Best Healthcare Consumer Media Brand for its patient-centric platform, MultipleSclerosis.net. Read more about MM&M Awards 2016 and see other finalists here.

A new survey from Health Union of more than 2,200 people with chronic health conditions and their caregivers illustrates how patients use online health information to better understand their health condition, learn about symptoms and treatment, and share experiences with other patients living with the same health condition. The findings are summarized in a recently published white paper, entitled “Social Media for Health: What Patients Really Want.”

We, as humans, are natural story tellers. Even our most basic communications are often expressed in the form of a narrative. “A narrative account involves a sequence of two or more bits of information which are presented in such a way that if the order of the sequence were changed, the meaning of the account would alter”. We apply this, and multiple other indicators, all the time. Temporal changes, tense variation, climaxing topics, learned morals — we incorporate these elements into much of our daily conversation without even realizing it. And we come to digest and remember our experiences based on repeated narration.

Anyone who manages a community — online or offline — will identify sensitivities within that community. This includes topics that either generate strong feelings of consensus or prompt division within members. The role of the community manager is to identify these sensitivities, and then manage them in a way that generates positive, productive discussions.

Over the past several years, there has been a significant growth in the popularity of online communities, and as one may expect, there are a multitude of challenges associated with developing these seemingly robust communities into self-sustaining businesses. In 2013, the CEO of Reddit, for instance, reported that despite having 70 million monthly readers, his company wasn’t making money. More recently, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, announced (via a tweet), that there would be company layoffs to “move with greater focus and reinvest in our growth.” A viable business model is absolutely critical to maintain thriving and sustainable communities.

“Why do lurkers lurk and what do they do?” The 90–9–1 rule of thumb has been applied to many digital and online communities. 90% tend to be less vocal but still engaged, 9% tend to be more vocal by commenting and/or sharing, and the remaining 1% tend to be the most vocal by creating new content. The lurkers are the 90%. While the exact ratio is highly debated and perhaps outdated, the idea that lurkers or what we refer to as the “silent majority” make up a large portion of online communities still holds true.