Patients’ Use of Social Media for Diabetes Self-Care: Systematic Review

Abstract

Background Patient engagement with diabetes self-care is critical to reducing morbidity and mortality. Social media is one form of digital health that is available for diabetes self-care, although its use for peer-to-peer communication has not been systematically described, and its potential to support patient self-care is unclear. Objective The primary aim of this systematic review was to describe the use of social media among patients (peer-to-peer) to manage diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The secondary aim was to assess patients’ clinical outcomes, behavioral outcomes, quality of life, and self-efficacy resulting from peer-to-peer social media use. Methods We conducted a literature search in the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, and PsycINFO (January 2008 through April 2019). The inclusion criteria were quantitative studies that included peer-to-peer use of social media for self-care of diabetes mellitus (with all subtypes) and CVD, including stroke. Results After an initial yield of 3066 citations, we selected 91 articles for a full-text review and identified 7 papers that met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 4 studies focused on type 1 diabetes, 1 study included both type 1 and 2 diabetes, and 2 studies included multiple chronic conditions (eg, CVD, diabetes, depression, etc). Our search did not yield any individual studies on CVD alone. Among the selected papers, 2 studies used commercial platforms (Facebook and I Seek You), 3 studies used discussion forums developed specifically for each study, and 2 surveyed patients through different platforms or blogs. There was significant heterogeneity in the study designs, methodologies, and outcomes applied, but all studies showed favorable results on either primary or secondary outcomes. The quality of studies was highly variable. Conclusions The future landscape of social media use for patient self-care is promising. However, current use is nascent. Our extensive search yielded only 7 studies, all of which included diabetes, indicating the most interest and demand for peer-to-peer interaction on diabetes self-care. Future research is needed to establish efficacy and safety in recommending social media use among peers for diabetes self-care and other conditions.

Receptivity of Governmental Communication and Its Effectiveness During COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency in Vietnam: A Qualitative Study

“…Moreover, the government agencies “created visual messages such as infographics, Vpop song “Ghen Co Vy”, and dancing movies that make me remember easier” (Mr. Hao, a 30-year-old male salesperson, FGD 8). The findings are supported by previous studies that indicate that mass media interventions have been used to increase social capital, social cohesion, knowledge networks, and self-efficacy to prevent or control the issues of global diseases (Abroms and Maibach 2008 ; Elnaggar et al 2020 ).…”

Factors Engaging Users of Diabetes Social Media Channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: Observational Study

“…Disease-specific social media groups, such as the one we analyzed in this study, are recognized as trusted sources of information. Patient associations on social media reach and engage a considerable number of people, which can potentially benefit their users at many levels, including with respect to health outcomes [ 16 , 17 , 19 ]. These channels could supplement the traditional delivery of information provided by health care professionals today.…”

“…Belonging to health-related groups on social media has been linked to several benefits for users, including a reduction in feelings of isolation [ 5 , 6 ], an increased sense of belonging [ 5 , 7 ], positive confirmation of their own situation [ 5 , 8 ], an enhanced sense of well-being [ 9 , 10 ], increased feelings of empowerment [ 2 , 11 - 15 ], and better health outcomes for users of diabetes-specific social media [ 11 , 16 - 19 ].…”

Digital Data Sources and Their Impact on People's Health: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews

“…Most of the studies we found are provided for health care professionals ( 81 – 85 ) and patients ( 77 , 79 , 86 – 90 ) to manage disease or develop interventions through changing attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge to prevent potential health hazards. As shown in Figure 4 , only 6% of the studies were directed to researchers, reviewing the methods used for coding tobacco-related Twitter data ( 91 ), while the others are more specific to the disease itself from the perspective of patients and health care workers.…”

“…Social media (SM) and social networking sites (SNS) are the most popular channel for delivering interventions or knowledge to the targeted groups, as shown in Figure 5 . Although they rely on interactivity, timeliness, and low cost to gain an invaluable advantage in the intervention of smoking cessation ( 88 , 89 , 91 ), blood glucose and pressure control ( 77 , 79 , 85 , 87 ), and HIV antiretroviral treatment adherence ( 76 ), this also inevitably exposes their limitations in terms of both data and the platforms themselves. First, the efficacy and safety of digital interventions are unknown, not only due to the methodological limitations of randomized controlled trials such as small sample size ( 81 ) and absence of critical information ( 77 ), but also due to the nature of SM, that is, uncontrolled sharing of information leading to low data accuracy ( 79 ).…”