Online social support exchange among medical travelers in South Asia: a content analysis of Facebook posts

In recent years, more than half of the total medical travelers visiting India each year belong to Bangladesh. This study explores social support exchange in an online health community comprising participants who intend to travel/have traveled/are traveling from Bangladesh to India for medical reasons. We used thematic content analysis to classify social support into informational, emotional, and instrumental types. We found that informational support was the most commonly exchanged, indicating the high informational needs of medical travelers. Contrary to the existing literature, instrumental support, often related to urgent treatment needs, was exchanged more frequently than emotional support. This could be due to the resource constraints medical travelers face and the possibility of group members' geographical connectivity. This study underscores the role of online platforms in facilitating the exchange of social support. It illuminates critical themes related to medical travel, enriching our understanding of this demographic's unique challenges and needs.