Using Pender's health promotion model to understand patient influencers' promotion of chronic disease self-management.

This article examines the role of patient influencers—social media users who share their lived experiences with chronic disease—in promoting health behaviors related to chronic disease self-management. Applying Pender’s Health Promotion Model (HPM), which emphasizes personal experiences, behavioral perceptions, and behavioral outcomes as motivators for health behavior change, the study identifies three key themes in patient influencers’ communication: representing the disease community, acting as intermediaries of information, and supporting good health. Through interviews with 37 patient influencers living with various chronic conditions, the study finds that these influencers build trust and relatability with followers by sharing authentic content, addressing information gaps, and modeling self-management behaviors, thereby empowering patients to engage in health-promoting actions. The findings suggest patient influencers function as peer educators and facilitators of value co-creation within online patient communities, although the study notes limitations including the diversity of conditions represented and the unassessed accuracy of shared information.