Examining the online sharings of parents with children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis through virtual communities using netnographic method

This study was conducted to identify how parents of children diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis share their Cystic Fibrosis diagnosis, treatment, side effects, support searches, feelings and thoughts, experiences, and how they express themselves on online platforms through virtual communities and to ensure that original data is used to improve the quality of care in pediatric nursing. The research was conducted between 01/06/2024-20/05/2025 with parents who shared via online platforms using the netnography method, one of the qualitative research types. The sample of the study was formed by the forum page of the "Cystic Fibrosis Association" named "kistikfibrosisisinsesimizol", which is an online virtual environment where mothers and fathers with children diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis can find content suitable for the research questions on "Facebook" and "Instagram", which are active sharing platforms and have a large number of members. During the research period, it was noticed that parents repeated emotional, physical and social sharing with different expressions and the shares were classified within themselves. In the classification of the obtained data, different expressions on the same subject were divided into subcodes and tried to be shown at a common point. The qualitative data analysis program MAXQDA Analytic Pro 12 (release 12.3.1) was used while creating these sub-classification systems. In the analysis conducted in the study, 4 different themes were obtained as "Mothers' and Fathers' Thoughts on Cystic Fibrosis Disease", "Mothers' and Fathers' Thoughts on Treatment", "Mothers' and Fathers' Thoughts on the Care Process" and "Mothers' and Fathers' Thoughts on the Support Process". It is recommended that pediatric nurses support parents of children diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis by providing education and counseling in these areas.