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This article reviews literature on online support groups/communities for individuals facing health concerns. Specifically, the article focuses on predictors of online support group/community participation, major theoretical frameworks that have been applied to the study of online support groups/communities, and coping strategies and health outcomes for individuals facing health concerns. Finally, the article discusses the strengths and limitations of existing empirical studies in this area; presents a critique of the relative merits and limitations of a number of theoretical frameworks that have been applied to the study of online support groups/communities for people facing health concerns; and it provides an agenda for future communication research on health-related online support groups/communities.

Given recent international trends in globalized healthcare systems, an analysis of the cultural representations of patient and physician imagery was conducted on 66 medical tourism websites. Expectancy violations theory serves as the intercultural theoretical framework for exploring the medical tourism process overall, and quality of care expectations specifically. Results revealed the type of website and international region of care varied both representations of care toward patients and the depictions of physicians as well as their associated environmental surroundings. The data reveals a cause for concern resulting from the distortion and diminishment regarding the ethnicity of physicians who offer services in overseas medical facilities. Future directions are offered to explore the consequences of these images among organizations advancing medical tourism services.

This broad consideration of the lifespan component of communication study emphasizes how communicative processes develop, are maintained, and change throughout the life span. Topics covered include language skills, interpersonal conflict management, socialization, care-giving, and relationship development