Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2015
Picture Me Smokefree: a qualitative study using social media and digital photography to engage young adults in tobacco reduction and cessation.
Young adults have high rates of tobacco use compared to other subpopulations, yet there are relatively few tobacco interventions specifically targeted to this group. Picture Me Smokefree is an online tobacco reduction and cessation intervention for young adults that uses digital photography and social networking. ⋯ Tobacco interventions for youth and young adults should be embedded within the existing social networking platforms they access most frequently, rather than designing a stand-alone online prevention or intervention resource. This subpopulation would likely benefit from tobacco reduction interventions that are gender-sensitive rather than gender-specific.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2015
Patient-reported outcomes and therapeutic affordances of social media: findings from a global online survey of people with chronic pain.
Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from social media use in chronic disease management continue to emerge. While many published articles suggest the potential for social media is positive, there is a lack of robust examination into mediating mechanisms that might help explain social media's therapeutic value. This study presents findings from a global online survey of people with chronic pain (PWCP) to better understand how they use social media as part of self-management. ⋯ Results did not uncover definitive demographics or characteristics of PWCP for which health outcomes are impacted. However, findings corroborate literature within this domain suggesting that there is a typical profile of people who use social media for health and that social media are more suited to particular health outcomes. Exploration of the relationship between social media's therapeutic affordances and health outcomes, in particular the narration affordance, warrants further attention by patients and clinicians.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2015
Earned media and public engagement with CDC's "Tips from Former Smokers" campaign: an analysis of online news and blog coverage.
In March 2012, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the first-ever paid national tobacco education campaign. At a cost of US $54 million, "Tips from Former Smokers" (Tips) ran for 3 months across multiple media, depicting the suffering experienced by smokers and their families in graphic detail. The potential impact and reach of the Tips campaign was not limited to that achieved through paid media placements. It was also potentially extended through "earned media", including news and blog coverage of the campaign. Such coverage can shape public understanding of and facilitate public engagement with key health issues. ⋯ The Tips campaign received limited coverage on either online news or blog sources, but the limited number of stories generated engagement among online audiences. In addition to the content and volume of blog and news coverage, audience comments and websites' mechanisms for sharing stories via social media are likely to determine the influence of online earned media. In order to facilitate meaningful evaluation of public health campaigns within the rapidly advancing media environment, there is a need for the public health community to build consensus regarding collection and assessment of engagement data.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2015
Health information-seeking behavior of seniors who use the Internet: a survey.
The Internet is viewed as an important source for health information and a medium for patient empowerment. However, little is known about how seniors use the Internet in relation to other sources for health information. ⋯ For these seniors who use the Internet, the Internet was a preferred source of health information. Seniors who report higher use of the Internet also report higher use of other information resources and were also the primary consumers of paper-based resources. Respondents most frequently searched for health information after an appointment rather than to prepare for an appointment. Resources used varied by health topic. Future research should seek to confirm these findings in a general elderly population, investigate how seniors seek and understand information on the Internet, and investigate how to reach seniors who prefer not to use the Internet for health information.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA Mobile Health Intervention Supporting Heart Failure Patients and Their Informal Caregivers: A Randomized Comparative Effectiveness Trial.
Mobile health (mHealth) interventions may improve heart failure (HF) self-care, but standard models do not address informal caregivers' needs for information about the patient's status or how the caregiver can help. ⋯ Compared to a relatively intensive model of IVR monitoring, self-management assistance, and clinician alerts, a model including automated feedback to an informal caregiver outside the household improved HF patients' medication adherence and caregiver communication. mHealth+CP may also decrease patients' risk of HF exacerbations related to shortness of breath and sudden weight gains. mHealth+CP may improve quality of life among patients with greater depressive symptoms. Weekly health and self-care monitoring via mHealth tools may identify intervention effects in mHealth trials that go undetected using typical, infrequent retrospective surveys.