Forums Provide Support for Breast Augmentation Patients

What role can an Internet forum (or message board) play for women who undergo breast augmentation?

A new study explores this question by looking into the world of online forums about breast augmentation.

Since the early days of the Internet, forums and message boards have popped up for a wide variety of sub-cultures.

Whether you’re into knitting, fashion or auto racing, you can probably find a forum that offers a platform for peer-to-peer sharing of valuable information for your area of interest.

Some of the most popular breast augmentation forums include

• Just Breast Implants
• Make Me Heal
• My Breast Enhancement Forum
• Real Self

The study by doctors at Norway’s Oslo University Hospital examines the experiences of women who use online forums to share and understand their own breast augmentation.

Authors of the study say they wanted to “explore the shared values, feelings, and thoughts within the culture of breast enlargement among women visiting Internet-based forums when considering and/or undergoing esthetic plastic surgery.”

Within these online communities, the researchers found positive things happening. Like an online support group, fellow users proved to be a helpful guide for other patients before and after their surgery.

“Through electronic postings, they cared for and nursed each others’ anxiety and feelings throughout the whole process,” the authors write.

What can healthcare professionals learn from breast augmentation forums?

The authors argue that, for healthcare professionals, online forums may be a model worth exploring. They provide a concept called “torrenting” which they say “can be further explored in relation to post modern self-care strategies within contemporary nursing theories and practice.”

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