Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the participants
| Baseline characteristics Intervention versus Control | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Total group (n = 67) | Intervention group (n = 35) | Control group (n = 32) |
| Gender – female n (%) | 59 (88%) | 29 (83%) | 30 (94%) |
| Age, mean years (SD) | 19.1 (2.7) | 19.2 (2.7) | 19.1 (2.9) |
| Education level completed n (%) | |||
| Primary educationa | 15 (22%) | 10 (29%) | 5 (16%) |
| Intermediate vocational educationb | 35 (52%) | 17 (49%) | 18 (56%) |
| Bachelor or University | 17 (25%) | 8 (23%) | 9 (28%) |
| Civil status n (%) | |||
| Living at home with parents | 53 (79%) | 26 (74%) | 27 (84%) |
| Living independently | 14 (21%) | 9 (26%) | 5 (16%) |
| Marital status n (%) | |||
| Single | 61 (91%) | 32 (91%) | 29 (91%) |
| Living together | 3 (5%) | 1 (2%) | 2 (6%) |
| Married | 3 (5%) | 2 (6%) | 1 (3%) |
| Diagnosed disease n (%) | |||
| Oligo-articular JIA | 14 (21%) | 8 (23%) | 6 (19%) |
| Poly-articular JIA | 24 (36%) | 9 (26%) | 15 (47%) |
| Systemic JIA | 8 (12%) | 6 (17%) | 2 (6%) |
| Other | 21 (31%) | 12 (34%) | 9 (28%) |
| Duration of the disease (years diagnosed, mean, SD) | 10.9 (6.4) | 10.1 (6,3) | 11.8 (6.5) |
| Frequency of internet use n(%) | |||
| (Almost) daily | 62 (93%) | 31 (89%) | 31 (97%) |
| Several times a week | 3 (5%) | 2 (6%) | 1 (3%) |
| Few times a week | 1 (2%) | 1 (3%) | |
| Rarely | 1 (2%) | 1 (3%) | |
| Purpose use internet | |||
| Search health info n(%) | |||
| Not | 3 (5%) | 2 (6%) | 1 (3%) |
| Yes, one single time | 30 (45%) | 18 (51%) | 12 (38%) |
| Yes, sometimes | 28 (28%) | 11 (31%) | 17 (53%) |
| Frequent | 6 (9%) | 4 (11%) | 2 (6%) |
| Forum visit health/arthritis | |||
| Not | 47 (70%) | 23 (66%) | 24 (75%) |
| Yes, one single time | 12 (18%) | 7 (20%) | 5 (16%) |
| Yes, sometimes | 6 (9%) | 4 (11%) | 2 (6%) |
| Frequent | 2 (3%) | 1 (3%) | 1 (3%) |
| Chat/e-mail with someone with arthritis | |||
| Not | 55 (82%) | 27 (77%) | 28 (88%) |
| Yes, one single time | 5 (7%) | 4 (11%) | 1 (3%) |
| Yes, sometimes | 2 (3%) | 2 (6%) | |
| Frequent | 5 (8%) | 2 (6%) | 3 (9%) |
| Visit weblog patient | |||
| Not | 55 (82%) | 30 (86%) | 25 (78%) |
| Yes, one single time | 9 (13%) | 2 (6%) | 7 (22%) |
| Yes, sometimes | 2 (3%) | 2 (6%) | |
| Frequent | 1 (2%) | 1 (3%) | |
| Relevance internet in relation | |||
| disease, Scale 1–10 (mean) (SD) | 3.4 (2.5) | 3.1 (2.7) | 3.7 (2.1) |
| peer support, Scale 1–10 (mean) (SD) | 3.0 (2.5) | 3.1 (2.6) | 3.0 (2.5) |
SD standard deviation
aLower vocational education, lower general secondary education
bhigher general secondary education, pre-university education