Table 3.

Mediators of posting in by health care professionals in social media and virtual communities.

	Individual level	Community level
Motivators	Personal gain: (1) more knowledge [28,77,88]; (2) a better reputation [88]; (3) emotional support [88]	Collectivism [28,77,88,124]
	Seeker interest [88]	Reciprocity [28,88,124]
	Altruism [28,77,88,124]	Respectful environment [88,124]
	Self-selection [27]	Technology [88,124]
	Validation of one’s practice [27]	Asynchronous nature [27]
	Advocacy [77]	Facilitate networking [77]
	Better understanding of current knowledge and best practice in the field [27,77,103]	Noncompetitive environment [27]
Barriers	Nothing to add [88]	Information not trustworthy [103]
	Nothing to say [126]	Lack of privacy [28,103]
	Lack of time [88,103,126]	Technology [88,103]
	Unfamiliarity with subject [88]	Confidentiality of sharing organization documents [88]
	Lack of confidence [126]	Tone of discussion [28,126]
	Local unit constraints [126]	Alienation[28]
	Attitude of seeker [88] or poster agenda[103]	Unprofessional behavior [28,103]