Relationship between Health Information Sharing Behavior Using Social Media and Breast Cancer Screening

Abstract

Background: Despite established screening guidelines, breast cancer screening rates are below targeted goals. Pharmacists and other health care providers can promote breast cancer screening using tools such as social media. However, little is known about the use of social media among the breast cancer screening eligible population.
 Objective: To describe the health information sharing behavior using social media of the breast cancer screening eligible population, and to identify if sharing health information on social media was associated with breast cancer screening.
 Methods and materials: Data from the 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate logistic regression to evaluate the association between sharing health information on social media and receipt of a mammogram.
 Results: Women sharing health information via social media were significantly younger than those who did not. A significantly higher percentage of Hispanics (17.8%) and other races (27.0%) chose to share health information on social media compared to African Americans (8.6%) and Whites (12.9%). Mammogram rates did not differ based on social media health information sharing habits.
 Conclusion: Race and age differences were noted in health information sharing behavior. No association was found between health information sharing behavior and breast cancer screening.
 Conflict of Interest
 We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties
 
 Type: Original Research