Content Analysis of Social Media Related to Left Ventricular Assist Devices

Abstract

Background-Social media have the potential to offer important benefits for patient education, support, and shared decision making. Despite the proliferation of social media use during the past decade, little is known about the scope and quality of available information, or the purposes that social media sites serve for patient decisional and support needs. Methods and Results-We conducted a mixed method study, including content analysis of social media and principal components analysis analysis of data sites discussing left ventricular assist device treatment for heart failure. This study explored aspects of interactivity, user-friendliness, appeal, medium, purpose, audience, and accuracy of information. Higher levels of interactivity (eg, posting comments) seem to enhance the appeal and usability of available information but also introduce greater potential for inaccuracy and inconsistency. The current lack of oversight into the content and quality of available information constitute a challenge for the reliable use of social media as forums for informationseeking and social network-based support. Conclusions-We conclude that social media outlets constitute a promising source of informational and psychosocial support for patients, caregivers, and candidates, and if used in conjunction with patient-provider dialog, can contribute to informed decision making by facilitating reflection and discussion of personal concerns, values, and informational needs. (Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2015;8:517-523.

Quality of Social Media and Web-Based Information Regarding Inappropriate Nuclear Cardiac Stress Testing and the Choosing Wisely Campaign: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…An investigation which took a similar approach to ours and focused on myocardial infarction also found both inconsistency in the content and lack of substance for relevant concepts such as prevention and risk factors [11]. These authors and others have called for more authoritative content to be developed for these platforms which patients are using to gather information and make decisions about care [12]. Development of such authoritative content may be an important role for the future of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation and its partners in the Choosing Wisely campaign.…”

Development and validation of a patient-centered knowledge scale for left ventricular assist device placement

“…Anecdotal evidence suggests that standard education varies across hospitals with regard to when patients receive education (i.e., before or after medical review for candidacy), who participates in educational discussions (typically, a variety of clinical team members meet with patients to answer questions in informal visits outside of standard education), and whether patients seek information on their own through LVAD- or transplant-related websites or social media. 27 More research and guidelines are needed to ensure that standard education is consistent across settings and optimally designed to meet patient and provider needs for informed consent.…”

Beyond Checklists: A Nursing Informatics Education Strategy for Undergraduate Nursing Students Appraising Health Information on Social Networking Sites (SNS) / Au-delà des listes de vérification : Une stratégie de formation infirmière au numérique pour l’évaluation, par les étudiantes de premier cycle, des informations sur la santé présentes sur les sites des réseaux sociaux (SRS)

“…SNS are described as Internet-based technologies and applications that permit users to create a profile allowing them to generate, manipulate, and text, audio, photo and/or video content (Bahr, Crampton, & Domb, 2017, p. 71). The profile user can create groups to connect with others in an online-network community and acquire real-time feedback while adjusting the content (Bahr et al, 2017;Chandler & Munday, 2016;Kostick, Blumenthal-Barby, Wilhelms, Delgado, & Bruce, 2015). More importantly, SNS "assume the characteristics of information openness, participation, interaction, sharing, connectedness, creativity, autonomy, collaboration, and reciprocity" (Kostick et al, 2015 p. 518).…”