Support Social Media Research Articles

Online Experiences, Internet-Fostered Connection, Resilience, and Adjustment Among Adolescent Siblings of Children With Cancer.

Pediatric cancer disrupts the lives of siblings in many ways, including physical separations from family and friends that increase risk for distress. Research suggests that siblings use technology and social media to connect with friends and family and seek social support and interaction. However, this may expose siblings to negative online experiences that can erode self-esteem, reducing resilience. This study explored the relationship between online experiences, internet-fostered connection, resilience, and psychosocial health among siblings of children with cancer. Participants included adolescent siblings (N = 81; aged 12-17 years) of children with cancer. Most were female (56.8%), and 50.6% represented racially or ethnically minoritized groups. Online experiences, social media use, resilience, and psychosocial health were self-reported and analyzed using structural equation modeling. A majority of siblings reported moderate to severe posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs) (59%) and elevated emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBDs) (53%). Experiencing more positive online experiences was associated with greater perceived connection to family and friends online, but not resilience, PTSSs, or EBDs. In contrast, higher negative online experience scores were significantly associated with more PTSSs and EBDs. In addition, the association between negative online experiences and EBDs was significantly mediated by a negative association between negative online experiences and resilience. Although social media may be a valuable tool for helping siblings of children with cancer garner social support, negative online experiences may be detrimental to their adjustment. Efforts should be made to preserve and foster resilience among siblings who use social media for support.

Social Media in Support of Indonesia's One Data Interoperability Process for Implementing Data Governance Policies

This study aims to determine whether Twitter is a social media platform that supports the One Data Indonesia Interoperability process to implement data regulations by producing accurate, integrated and accountable data. Use of Social media in Participation, Transparency, Discussion, involvement, and Communication Strategy. This descriptive research uses NVivo 12 Plus with data sources from Twitter @diklat BIG, @datagoid, @bappenasRI, and @Jokowi via NCapture. NCapture data and use the automatically configured crosstab feature. This study shows that social media significantly drives data interoperability strategies in Indonesia. Communication indicators from Participation in previous attempts were 22.00% and 3236 referrals. The 21.00% transparency category includes clear objectives, processes and program support. They completed 20.00% of the various stages of data collection, verification, and data priority release. To socialize the implementation of One Data Indonesia and the action to accelerate the provision of the One Data Portal, tweets were used with an involvement proportion of 18.00%. Communication Strategy realizes the importance of data and the existence of One Data Indonesia by using the Conversation Indicator, which has a Participation proportion of 17.00%. This study is essential for analyzing social media assistance using Twitter-based activity support and providing new, up-to-date data with NVivo 12 Plus analysis.

Nursing students’ use of social media in their learning: a case study of a Canadian School of Nursing

BackgroundSocial media has diverse applications for nursing education. Current literature focuses on how nursing faculty use social media in their courses and teaching; less is known about how and why nursing students use social media in support of their learning.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to explore how nursing students use social media in their learning formally and informally.MethodsThis exploratory qualitative case study of a Canadian School of Nursing reports on the findings of interviews (n = 9) with nursing students to explore how they use social media in their learning. Data were analyzed using a combined deductive and inductive coding approach, using three cycles of coding to facilitate category identification.Results and conclusionsThe findings demonstrate that participants use social media for formal and informal learning and specifically, as a third space to support their learning outside of formal institutional structures. Social media plays a role in the learning activities of nursing students studying both face-to-face and by distance. Accordingly, social media use has implications for learning theory and course design, particularly regarding creating space for student learning communities.

“I would rather be informed than misinformed”: critical conversations supporting transnational religious identity across time and space

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how a transnational immigrant youth’s engagement on social media supported her identity formation and allowed space to advance more just framing of Islam across school and online communities.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study draws on data collected across two years, including interviews, classroom observations and social media posts. Using digital religion and counterstorying as a constructive theoretical frame, the authors asked: What was the role of social media in supporting a transnational immigrant youth’s critical media literacy practices within and beyond school. How, if at all, did these practices shift over time?FindingsFindings highlight how I. Mohamud used social media in support of her identity development as a female, Muslim youth in a political climate antithetical to such liberation and how through an online community she engaged in counter stories to negative framing of Islam.Originality/valueOur collaborative writing answers Lam and Warriner’s (2012) call for research exploring how individuals from migrant backgrounds interact with “diverse media representations and mobilize different interpretive frames for understanding societal events and personal experiences” (p. 207). Moreover, this study further answers El-Haj and Bonet (2012) call for research investigating “ways that youth inhabit particular identities in specific contexts and interactions and across time” (p. 41).

Online Discussions About Tinnitus: What Can We Learn From Natural Language Processing of Reddit Posts?

This study was aimed at identifying key topics in online discussions about tinnitus by examining a large data set extracted from Reddit social media using a natural language processing technique. A corpus of 113,215 posts about tinnitus was extracted from Reddit's application programming interface. After cleaning the data for duplications and posts without any text information, the sample was reduced to 101,905 posts, which was subjected to cluster analysis using the open-source IRaMuTeQ software to identify main topics based on the co-occurrence of texts. These clusters were named by a panel of tinnitus experts (n = 9) by reading typical text segments within each cluster. The cluster analysis identified 16 unique clusters that belong to two topics, which were named "tinnitus causes and consequences" and "tinnitus management and coping." Based on their characteristics, the clusters were named: tinnitus timeline (10%), tinnitus perception (9.7%), medical triggers and modulators (8.8%), hearing research (8.8%), attention and silence (8.6%), social media posts about tinnitus (7.4%), hearing protection (7.3%), interaction with hearing health care providers (6.7%), mental health and coping (5.8%), music listening (5.7%), hope for a cure (5.6%), interactions with people without tinnitus (5.4%), dietary supplements and alternative therapies (3.2%), sleep (3.9%), dietary effects (1.7%), and writing about tinnitus and being thankful to online community (1.4%). Despite some limitations, tinnitus posts on Reddit provide rich real-world data to identify various issues and complaints that tinnitus patients and their significant others discuss in online communities. Some of the clusters identified here are novel (e.g., tinnitus timeline, interactions with people without tinnitus) and have not been much discussed in the tinnitus literature. The results suggest that individuals with tinnitus relay on social media for support and highlight the service delivery needs in providing social support through other means (e.g., support groups).

Thriving in a shifting landscape: Role of social media in support of business strategy

Contemporary organizations need to communicate with their customers in order to know them better, so that they can learn how to better satisfy their needs, provide better customer service and in so doing improve their commercial performance. Social media are one type of communication channel that organizations currently use to support these strategies. The purpose of this paper is to study how different types of organizations employ social media to support their business strategies, and how this affects the organizations’ performance. To achieve this goal, this study collects information from several organizations in Tehran, the Capital of Iran, and 58 managers, marketing experts, social media experts and university faculty. This study uses questionnaires to collect data and employs descriptive-inferential statistical methods to analyze the data. The results show that social media play an important role, yet differing role, in supporting prospector, analyzer, reactor and defender business development strategies that are key elements in business performance improvement.

Social media-related tensions on business-to-business markets – Evidence from China

Previous research has established the benefits of using social media in support of engagement in business-to-business settings. Yet the study of problems that arise from social media use in business relationships remains limited. Utilizing a dyadic perspective, this study addresses the gap by focusing on tensions in buyer-supplier relationships that arise from social media use. Findings present three dualistic tensions: active engagement anticipated by suppliers versus passive monitoring practices of the buyers; increased transparency through business-to-business social media versus invisibility; as well as tensions between local versus international business-to-business social media engagement practices. The study draws on 52 semi-structured in-depth interviews with senior managers who work in relevant positions at manufacturing firms based in China. By identifying characteristic tensions pertaining to business-to-business social media, this study aims to contribute to research on the ‘dark side’ of business relationships as well as to literature on business-to-business social media engagement.

Process of transformation dissemination radio broadcast content

This study is motivated the development of broadcasting into a creative industry. Industries that produce ideas and ways of broadcasting of the content or information that can be consumed by the public. Packaging strategies and mechanisms broadcasting content requires creativity. This is commercialized broadcasting of creative industries. The mechanism of the presentation and delivery of content produced through the creative process that is the product of a creative industry broadcasting. Some radio in Bandung, to expand its range made a breakthrough in the use of Internet technology in the operation of the broadcast, including the use of social media in support the broadcast does. This paper is a qualitative study using case studies conducted by in-depth interviews, literature studies and observations. The validity of the research data triangulation technique was used to find out how the PRFM radio as one of the largest radio in Bandung, to broaden its reach has been doing ground breaking use of internet technology on its broadcast operations, the use of social media (Facebook) supporting broadcast. This research focuses on the transformation of the dissemination of current broadcast radio content using social media. With the presence of the new technology would allow the changes that need to be adapted to the culture and behaviour of the consumer.

Social Media, Venue and the Right to a Fair Trial

Judicial failure to recognize social media’s influence on juror decision making has identifiable constitutional implications. The Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial demands that courts grant a defendant’s change of venue motion when media-generated pretrial publicity invades the unbiased sensibility of those who are asked to sit in judgment. Courts limit publicity suitable for granting a defendant’s motion to information culled from newspapers, radio, and television reports. Since about 2014, however, a handful of defendants have introduced social media posts to support their claims of unconstitutional bias in the community. Despite defendants’ introduction of negative social media in support of their claims, these same courts have yet to include social media in their evaluation of pretrial publicity bias. But social media is media, and as this article demonstrates, trial court judges faced with deciding change of venue motions have a constitutional obligation to include social media in their evaluations. The collective refusal to treat social media the same as biased television, radio, or print media, suggests an erroneous assumption on the part of lower courts that social media is somehow different. This article identifies three reasons as justification for dismissing social media: social media is too recent a medium to fully understand and analyze, social media is not a legitimate news source, and social media is opinion based. Application of pretrial social media publicity to long-standing Supreme Court change of venue doctrine, coupled with its exploration of scientific and social research on social media influence, debunk these lower court rationalizations. This article demonstrates that the reluctance of courts to consider social media evidence when deciding whether to grant a motion for a change of venue is a violation of any defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial. On a larger scale, the article demands that courts embrace our new reality. Social media intersects with criminal justice, and our daily lives, in ways that demand judicial recognition.

Bridging the Gap: Understanding the Potential of Social Media for Support of Medical Student Education in Resource Limited Settings

Bridging the Gap: Understanding the Potential of Social Media for Support of Medical Student Education in Resource Limited Settings

Assessing Perceptions of Hydroxyurea Among Sickle Cell Disease Stakeholders Using Social Media

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood disorder associated with several clinical complications including multi-organ damage and early mortality. SCD imposes a significant burden on patients and their families and creates disproportionately high health care costs. Hydroxyurea (HU) is the only disease-modifying drug approved for SCD and is shown to decrease SCD complications and mortality rates in children and adults. However, it is estimated that over 60% of eligible patients may not receive or adhere to HU therapy, thus, limiting the impact of HU to improve SCD-related morbidity and mortality. Patient perceptions of HU are an important factor contributing to its underutilization. Understanding these perceptions will help in the development of interventions for increasing HU use and adherence.There has been an increasingly large number of patients with SCD who rely on social media for support and to find health information. User-generated data on social media platforms can be used to augment traditional qualitative and quantitative health behavior studies and may be a rich source of information regarding patient perceptions. However, the utility of online user-generated data in SCD-related studies has not been determined.Study Objective: We sought to determine whether perceptions of HU among SCD stakeholders can be assessed using a social media platform.Methods: We extracted data from the Sickle Cell Unite Facebook group between January 2014 and November 2015. Our dataset included 145 HU-related original messages posted by members of that group and 2618 affiliated comments. Using a content analysis framework, we developed deductive codes according to previously identified barriers and facilitators from published studies as well as constructs from the health belief model, shared-decision making model, and social support concepts. We also employed inductive coding to identify previously unknown themes related to HU utilization.Results: Social support provided by the Facebook group was a major finding evidenced by the significant interaction of patients and caregivers in the group. Of the 145 original messages related to HU, 55% asked questions about HU-therapy, and there were 1,131 comments received in response regarding side effects, efficacy, experiences, and opinions of HU. Qualitative analysis of 481 comments written in response to advice-seeking questions revealed that user comments with a positive valance toward HU were more likely to associate with high efficacy, few or minor side effects, and better quality of life. Comments with a negative valance were more likely to associate HU with lack of efficacy and numerous or harsh side effects. Hair loss was the most frequently cited and discussed side effect. Notably, 50% of valance-coded comments posted by caregivers were supportive of HU as opposed to only 34% of patients' comments, suggesting a more favorable perception of HU among caregivers.Through inductive coding, we identified two emergent themes related to patient/caregiver barriers of HU use. First, patients/caregivers perceived that HU was masking SCD symptoms (e.g. artificially improving blood counts) and making it more difficult for them to receive needed acute care. Second, users expressed awareness of HU as a "cancer drug", a fact that deterred uptake. These novel findings suggest that stakeholders may share beliefs in a social media setting that are not being captured by traditional research.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to use social media user-generated data for understanding patient perceptions of a SCD therapy. Our findings demonstrate that Facebook social media site not only serves as a supportive resource for SCD community, but can also provide insight into perceptions among stakeholders. Consistent with traditional research regarding barriers and facilitators to HU use, our social media data revealed a range of valance themes related to patient/caregiver perceived efficacy and side effects of the therapy. Our data also uncovered important barriers that have not been reported in prior research. Thus, this study provides information that can be used to improve utilization and adherence to HU, and has significant implications for the utility of social media in advancing SCD-related research. Similar methodology may be applied to other social media platforms to address additional public health research questions. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

The Farm Wife Mystery School: Women's use of social media in the contemporary North American urban homestead movement

Within the larger North American food security movement, self-professed ‘urban homesteaders’ have been tearing up their backyard lawns to plant vegetable gardens and install chicken coops in search of greater self-sufficiency and independence from industrial agriculture and the corporate food chain. Participants are most often white, middle-class professionals who have no previous experience in food production or preservation and they turn to the internet and social media for support and instruction. This article considers the online community created by the urban homesteading movement as a so-called community of practice, an educational space where adult learners never meet face-to-face, but where significant informal, self-directed learning is taking place. Women's urban homesteading blogs are examined in the context of social movement learning to determine whether the use of social media as an educational and community-building tool is aiding women in furthering their food security goals. Women's gender roles in this contemporary movement are also considered, and this analysis suggests that using social media may be helping to bridge the traditional isolation expressed by previous generations of women, to reinforce a sense of political purpose to home-based food production, and to potentially create an income source for the family.

Preparing women for breast screening mammography: A feasibility study to determine the potential value of an on-line social network and information hub

This feasibility study explored the attitudes of women towards social media for support about breast screening mammography. It sought their ideas about what a dedicated breast screening hub or Digital Support Network (DSN) might comprise; how they would network with other women on the DSN; what format information might take; and whether a health professional should be available on the DSN. Data comprised 94 survey questionnaires and two focus groups; one comprised women in the breast screening population age group, the other was a younger group. A socio-ecological framework was used to identify key influencers and potential barriers for the implementation of a mammography DSN. The study identified issues related to three intersecting concepts which influenced women's behaviour: on-line conversations about health in general; on-line conversations about breast screening mammography and the culture of privacy which makes conversing about intimate health (either face to face or on-line) difficult. Also, the transient nature of the mammography episode (three yearly), could mean an on-line breast screening digital network is challenging to sustain. super-users’ may be needed to continue on-line conversations. The health professional was also seen as essential for moderating potential misinformation shared by women although the participants were also insistent that ‘truth’ be shared.

Social media and clinical research

5 Social media such as Twitter, Facebook, discussion boards and blogs created specifically for patients and healthcare professionals, generate a vast number of conversations on diseases, drugs and treatments. The output of social media analysis can be used to supplement our understanding of patient experience, disease burden, unmet medical need, perceptions of participation in clinical studies, research news, and thus adds a potentially valuable source of insight to our work in developing new medicines. There are many ways that the analysis of social media can benefit decision making in the drug development pipeline. Not least, providing a connection to patients, their journeys and what their healthcare providers and caregivers say. There is substantial work that uses social media to understand brand sentiment and in the support of commercial purposes, for example, brand perception, sponsored communities, brand awareness, and brand and topic education. What does not yet seem common is the use of social media in support of clinical research.

Using social media for support and feedback by mental health service users: thematic analysis of a twitter conversation.

BackgroundInternet based social media websites represent a growing space for interpersonal interaction. Research has been conducted in relation to the potential role of social media in the support of individuals with physical health conditions. However, limited research exists exploring such utilisation by individuals with experience of mental health problems. It could be proposed that access to wider support networks and knowledge could be beneficial for all users, although this positive interpretation has been challenged. The present study focusses on a specific discussion as a case study to assess the role of the website www.twitter.com as a medium for interpersonal communication by individuals with experience of mental disorder and possible source of feedback to mental health service providers.MethodAn electronic search was performed to identify material contributing to an online conversation entitled #dearmentalhealthprofessionals. Output from the search strategy was combined in such a way that repeated material was eliminated and all individual material anonymised. The remaining textual material was reviewed and combined in a thematic analysis to identify common themes of discussion.Results515 unique communications were identified relating to the specified conversation. The majority of the material related to four overarching thematic headings: The impact of diagnosis on personal identity and as a facilitator for accessing care; Balance of power between professional and service user; Therapeutic relationship and developing professional communication; and Support provision through medication, crisis planning, service provision and the wider society. Remaining material was identified as being direct expression of thanks, self-referential in its content relating to the on-going conversation or providing a link to external resources and further discussion.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrates the utility of online social media as both a discursive space in which individuals with experience of mental disorder may share information and develop understanding, and a medium of feedback to mental health service providers. Further research is required to establish potential individual benefit from the utilisation of such networks, its suitability as a means of service provision feedback and the potential role for, and user acceptability of, mental health service providers operating within the space.

Social media utilization in the cochlear implant community.

More than 200,000 individuals worldwide have received a cochlear implant (CI). Social media Websites may provide a paramedical community for those who possess or are interested in a CI. The utilization patterns of social media by the CI community, however, have not been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate participation of the CI community in social media Websites. We conducted a systematic survey of online CI-related social media sources. Using standard search engines, the search terms cochlear implant, auditory implant, forum, and blog identified relevant social media platforms and Websites. Social media participation was quantified by indices of membership and posts. Social media sources included Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and online forums. Each source was assigned one of six functional categories based on its description. No intervention was performed. We conducted all online searches in February 2014. Total counts of each CI-related social media source were summed, and descriptive statistics were calculated. More than 350 sources were identified, including 60 Facebook groups, 36 Facebook pages, 48 Twitter accounts, 121 YouTube videos, 13 forums, and 95 blogs. The most active online communities were Twitter accounts, which totaled 35,577 members, and Facebook groups, which totaled 17,971 members. CI users participated in Facebook groups primarily for general information/support (68%). Online forums were the next most active online communities by membership. The largest forum contained approximately 9,500 topics with roughly 127,000 posts. CI users primarily shared personal stories through blogs (92%), Twitter (71%), and YouTube (62%). The CI community engages in the use of a wide range of online social media sources. The CI community uses social media for support, advocacy, rehabilitation information, research endeavors, and sharing of personal experiences. Future studies are needed to investigate how social media Websites may be harnessed to improve patient-provider relationships and potentially used to augment patient education.

Poetics and Politics: Digital Interventions in Sahrawi Cultural Production

This study addresses how Sahrawi authors are employing social media in support of the Sahrawi cause. Via new media literary studies and theories of postcolonial nostalgias, this article demonstrates how Sahrawi digital interventions differ from, and capitalize on, competing political and historical discourses. The focus centers on the Sahrawi blog hosted by El Pais, analyzing its use of communal poetry, nostalgic discourse, and transnational appeal to communicate and support Sahrawi political and literary goals.

A community for grieving: affordances of social media for support of bereaved parents

The purpose of this paper was to study bereaved parents' use of a closed peer grief support community on Facebook and the features of the community that are important to them. The death of a child is an uncomfortable subject in most contemporary societies. This limits the exploration of experiences and possibilities for coping with grief. However, with the introduction of social media, this has changed. Theoretical perspectives on parental grief recognizing the importance of continued relational bonds with the lost child are used, together with the ontological assumption that social media enhance the dissolving of private/public and time/space. This study is based on questionnaire, interviews, and content from the closed peer grief support community, to which the research team has insider access. The community encompasses a diverse range of experiences and stages of grief, independent of the time elapsed since the loss of a child. Bereavement of children of all ages and from all conceivable causes of death is distributed among the members. The results show how the affordances of social media become vital resources for coping with grief in ways not available previously, comprising aspects of the closed nature of the group, shared experiences, time, and accessibility.

PTH-073 Social Media use by Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Viral Hepatitis Patients and Potential Application for Healthcare

IntroductionCurrently, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and viral hepatitis management involve regular visits to hospital clinics. This requires frequent time taken out of work and family life to attend. This study...

Social media: raising the profile of AHPs

Social media is reshaping healthcare and the way healthcare professionals and patients interact. In Scotland, few allied health professionals (AHPs) use these media to connect with policy makers, service users, the public, or colleagues. We aimed to establish whether social media, could be used to raise the profile of AHPs—three members of the AHP Directors Scotland Group (ADSG) and one AHP national lead. Training in the use of social media tools was supplemented by support by a subject matter expert throughout the 12-week project. Each AHP used social media in support of their own area of expertise. Over 1348 tweets and 8 blogs were posted, 753 followers attracted. Various audiences were reached; including UK and international AHPs; other healthcare professionals, professional bodies, the public, third sector and patient representative organisations. Working within an ethical framework, AHPs can use social media to promote greater awareness of their role and impact. It can also be used to forge new relationships and connect with individuals and organisations not routinely experienced.