Pam Ressler's Blog Featured in Grand Rounds

In the medical world "grand rounds" refers to a time-honored ritual in which experienced physicians, interns/residents and medical students come together to present and discuss a patient, condition, or treatment before an audience.  In the blogosphere we have our own multidisciplinary Grand Rounds in which interesting and informative health care blogs are selected to be highlighted and reviewed each week. I am thrilled that my blog was one of the health care blogs selected to be featured in this week's Grand Rounds.  I am humbled to be in such great company! 

Grand Rounds March 1, 2011

Communicating the Experience of Chronic Illness Through Blogging

What does blogging have to do with communicating the experience of illness?  Quite a bit.  I have been exploring the intersection between narrative medicine, coping with illness, and blogging for my research in the Pain Research, Education and Policy Program at Tufts School of Medicine.  Blogging creates a unique and accessible way for individuals who are isolated with chronic illness to be able to express and communicate their experience beyond the medical diagnosis. It provides a way for patients to tell their story and begin to make meaning out of what has happened to them, in real time. 

I recently was interviewed by Helen Osborne, Health Literacy Out Loud, about my research on use of tools of blogging and social media in health care. If you are interested in hearing more about communicating the experience of chronic illness through blogging, I hope you will listen to my podcast with Helen by clicking here.

Request for Research Help from Health Bloggers

Do you or does someone you know blog about their chronic illness? Lisa Gualtieri, PhD and I are interested in the motivation of why people choose to start and maintain a health blog for a research survey we are conducting. Can you help us out by answering the questions below or forwarding them on to health bloggers you may know? We appreciate any help you can provide us! Feel free to send emails directly to us at: pressler@stressresources.com or lisa@acm.org or post your answers in the comment section below.


We are researching why people choose to start and maintain a blog about a health condistion and would appreciate your answers to these questions:

When and why did you start your blog?

What do you see at the primary reason(s) you continue blogging?

How often do you typically post?

What types of feedback do you receive? How many comments do you typically get to each post?

Do you know how many unique visitors you have during a particular time period (say 2009)?

Do you do anything to promote your blog or attract new readers?

Do you use your real name in your blog?

Do you read other blogs by people with health issues and, if so, which and why?

Have you shown your blog to your doctor or other healthcare professional?