About this event

Abstract

Online communities have gained multidisciplinary attention in both the academic and practitioner literature. Some of this literature has taken a focus on online communities in the healthcare context, with recent studies highlighting their potential to contribute to social value creation, for example by reducing the divide between regional and other health disparities. In this talk, I will present a case study I conducted with colleagues with MedicineAfrica; an online community platform with the aim of improving healthcare education in countries with fragile healthcare systems. Based on data from interviews, questionnaires, online observations, and document analysis over a two-year period, I explore (a) the factors influencing participants’ motivations to join and stay committed with the community; and (b) the types of value that MedicineAfrica creates.