Women’s use of online health and social media resources to make sense of their polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis: a qualitative study

Published in BMC Womens Health, 2024

Recommended citation: Gomula, J., Warner, M. & Blandford, A. Women’s use of online health and social media resources to make sense of their polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis: a qualitative study. BMC Women's Health 24, 157 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-02993-5 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12905-024-02993-5

We highlight the information needs and information-seeking strategies women use to make sense of how PCOS affects them, to gain emotional support, and to help them find an effective treatment. We also show how women with PCOS use online health and social media resources to compare themselves to women they view as “normal” and other women with PCOS, to find their sense of “normal for me” along a spectrum of this disorder.

Download paper here

Recommended citation: Gomula, J., Warner, M. & Blandford, A. Women’s use of online health and social media resources to make sense of their polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis: a qualitative study. BMC Women’s Health 24, 157 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-02993-5