How Your Patients Can Use Social Media to Cope with Diabetes

Is Facebook a safe place for patients to reach out to one another?…

Many social networking sites have diabetes groups that provide people with a chance to communicate with others who are going through similar situations. In a recent study, researchers collected data from fifteen of the largest Facebook groups focused on diabetes to evaluate the quality and type of information being shared in these online communities.

The research showed that the communication could be broken down into: 26.7% product advertising focused on diabetes; 65.7% people providing information; 13.3% requests for information; 28.8% mutual support; and 3% inappropriate or unsupported information. The majority of the data involved personal experience with managing diabetes and sharing that insight. Some of the information shared included topics that might not get brought up with doctors like counting carbohydrates to consume alcohol without going into ketoacidosis. A number of posts were from newly diagnosed diabetics reaching out to "older" diabetics for guidance. Advertising represented a good percentage of discussion with a majority of products discussed being "natural." There were also outlets for researchers recruiting participants in surveys and trials.

The study provided a more accurate look at what social media provides for diabetic patients. Social media could also be used to open the door for health care providers to invite patients to ask more questions and address all of their concerns.

Practice Pearls:

• "Health 2.0" is a form of online communication that offers patients a way to build relationships and benefit from social media in order to learn more about their condition and reach out to others who face similar situations.
• Recent surveys suggest that "patients search the internet more frequently than they communicate with their doctors about health care."
• There are numerous information exchange boards online that you can refer your patients to for continued support and topic discussions about diabetes.

Greene, J. et al. Online Social Networking by patients with Diabetes: A Qualitative Evaluation of Communication with Facebook.