{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T11:58:15Z","timestamp":1775563095904,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,23]],"date-time":"2020-11-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1606089600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Fibromyalgia is a chronic disabling syndrome, and the legitimacy of its diagnosis is still debated. Internet and online communities may become a relevant resource for affected people. This present study aims to understand the role of online communities relating to fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) patients\u2019 illness experiences and their attitudes towards medication. A qualitative content analysis based on the grounded theory approach was conducted on 19 conversations from an online forum, and 14 online interviews. Illness experience, lack of reference points, online communities, personal role and attitude towards medication were the five categories identified, with the search for recognition as the core category. The study highlighted that online communities represent a resource that allows users to express and share their needs, especially in terms of legitimacy and recognition.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17228683","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,23]],"date-time":"2020-11-23T08:18:23Z","timestamp":1606119503000},"page":"8683","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Illness Experiences and Attitudes towards Medication in Online Communities for People with Fibromyalgia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9886-5683","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sabrina","family":"Cipolletta","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Silvia Caterina Maria","family":"Tomaino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Eliana","family":"Lo Magno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1204-4866","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena","family":"Faccio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Pedagogy and Applied Psychology, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0889-857X(21)00029-6","article-title":"Fibromyalgia: The Clinical Syndrome","volume":"15","author":"Wolfe","year":"1989","journal-title":"Rheum. 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