scholarly journals Use of Social Media to Promote Cancer Screening and Early Diagnosis: Scoping Review

10.2196/21582 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. e21582
Author(s):  
Ruth Plackett ◽  
Aradhna Kaushal ◽  
Angelos P Kassianos ◽  
Aaron Cross ◽  
Douglas Lewins ◽  
...  

Background Social media is commonly used in public health interventions to promote cancer screening and early diagnosis, as it can rapidly deliver targeted public health messages to large numbers of people. However, there is currently little understanding of the breadth of social media interventions and evaluations, whether they are effective, and how they might improve outcomes. Objective This scoping review aimed to map the evidence for social media interventions to improve cancer screening and early diagnosis, including their impact on behavior change and how they facilitate behavior change. Methods Five databases and the grey literature were searched to identify qualitative and quantitative evaluations of social media interventions targeting cancer screening and early diagnosis. Two reviewers independently reviewed each abstract. Data extraction was carried out by one author and verified by a second author. Data on engagement was extracted using an adapted version of the key performance indicators and metrics related to social media use in health promotion. Insights, exposure, reach, and differing levels of engagement, including behavior change, were measured. The behavior change technique taxonomy was used to identify how interventions facilitated behavior change. Results Of the 23 publications and reports included, the majority (16/23, 70%) evaluated national cancer awareness campaigns (eg, breast cancer awareness month). Most interventions delivered information via Twitter (13/23, 57%), targeted breast cancer (12/23, 52%), and measured exposure, reach, and low- to medium-level user engagement, such as number of likes (9/23, 39%). There were fewer articles about colorectal and lung cancer than about breast and prostate cancer campaigns. One study found that interventions had less reach and engagement from ethnic minority groups. A small number of articles (5/23, 22%) suggested that some types of social media interventions might improve high-level engagement, such as intended and actual uptake of screening. Behavior change techniques, such as providing social support and emphasizing the consequences of cancer, were used to engage users. Many national campaigns delivered fundraising messages rather than actionable health messages. Conclusions The limited evidence suggests that social media interventions may improve cancer screening and early diagnosis. Use of evaluation frameworks for social media interventions could help researchers plan more robust evaluations that measure behavior change. We need a greater understanding of who engages with these interventions to know whether social media can be used to reduce some health inequalities in cancer screening and early diagnosis. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033592

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Plackett ◽  
Aradhna Kaushal ◽  
Angelos P Kassianos ◽  
Aaron Cross ◽  
Douglas Lewins ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Social media is commonly used in public health interventions to promote cancer screening and early diagnosis, as it can rapidly deliver targeted public health messages to large numbers of people. However, there is currently little understanding of the breadth of social media interventions and evaluations, whether they are effective, and how they might improve outcomes. OBJECTIVE This scoping review aimed to map the evidence for social media interventions to improve cancer screening and early diagnosis, including their impact on behavior change and how they facilitate behavior change. METHODS Five databases and the grey literature were searched to identify qualitative and quantitative evaluations of social media interventions targeting cancer screening and early diagnosis. Two reviewers independently reviewed each abstract. Data extraction was carried out by one author and verified by a second author. Data on engagement was extracted using an adapted version of the key performance indicators and metrics related to social media use in health promotion. Insights, exposure, reach, and differing levels of engagement, including behavior change, were measured. The behavior change technique taxonomy was used to identify how interventions facilitated behavior change. RESULTS Of the 23 publications and reports included, the majority (16/23, 70%) evaluated national cancer awareness campaigns (eg, breast cancer awareness month). Most interventions delivered information via Twitter (13/23, 57%), targeted breast cancer (12/23, 52%), and measured exposure, reach, and low- to medium-level user engagement, such as number of likes (9/23, 39%). There were fewer articles about colorectal and lung cancer than about breast and prostate cancer campaigns. One study found that interventions had less reach and engagement from ethnic minority groups. A small number of articles (5/23, 22%) suggested that some types of social media interventions might improve high-level engagement, such as intended and actual uptake of screening. Behavior change techniques, such as providing social support and emphasizing the consequences of cancer, were used to engage users. Many national campaigns delivered fundraising messages rather than actionable health messages. CONCLUSIONS The limited evidence suggests that social media interventions may improve cancer screening and early diagnosis. Use of evaluation frameworks for social media interventions could help researchers plan more robust evaluations that measure behavior change. We need a greater understanding of who engages with these interventions to know whether social media can be used to reduce some health inequalities in cancer screening and early diagnosis. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033592


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e033592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aradhna Kaushal ◽  
Angelos P Kassianos ◽  
Jessica Sheringham ◽  
Jo Waller ◽  
Christian von Wagner

IntroductionSocial media platforms offer unique opportunities for health promotion messages focusing on cancer prevention and early diagnosis. However, there has been very little synthesis of the evaluation of such campaigns, limiting the ability to apply learning to the design of future social media campaigns. We aimed to provide a broad overview of the current research base on social media interventions for cancer prevention and early diagnosis, to identify knowledge gaps and to inform policy, practice and future research questions.MethodsWe will use scoping review methodology to explore the available evidence on social media interventions for cancer prevention and early diagnosis, with a focus on methodological approaches. Quantitative and qualitative studies and reports will be identified through searching several research databases, through internet searching for grey literature and by screening the citations of studies included in the review. All identified studies will undergo independent title and abstract screening and full-text screening against inclusion and exclusion criteria. We plan to chart the data from included studies to record the characteristics of the social media interventions, resources, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact. Charted data will be collated and summarised using a narrative synthesis. The interpretation and implications of the findings will be enhanced by consultation with relevant stakeholders such as public health organisations, cancer charities, and patient and public involvement groups when preliminary results are available.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required for this scoping review. The results will be used to identify research questions for future systematic reviews and to inform the development of future social media interventions. We will disseminate findings in peer-reviewed journals and at relevant conferences.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. e14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisling Gough ◽  
Ruth F Hunter ◽  
Oluwaseun Ajao ◽  
Anna Jurek ◽  
Gary McKeown ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy Walker ◽  
Claire Palermo ◽  
Karen Klassen

BACKGROUND Social media may have a significant role in influencing the present and future health implications among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, yet there has been no review of the role of social media in improving health. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine the extent of health initiatives using social media that aimed to improve the health of Australian Aboriginal communities. METHODS A scoping review was conducted by systematically searching databases CINAHL Plus; PubMed; Scopus; Web of Science, and Ovid MEDLINE in June 2017 using the terms and their synonyms “Aboriginal” and “Social media.” In addition, reference lists of included studies and the Indigenous HealthInfonet gray literature were searched. Key information about the social media intervention and its impacts on health were extracted and data synthesized using narrative summaries. RESULTS Five papers met inclusion criteria. All included studies were published in the past 5 years and involved urban, rural, and remote Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people aged 12-60 years. No studies reported objective impacts on health. Three papers found that social media provided greater space for sharing health messages in a 2-way exchange. The negative portrayal of Aboriginal people and negative health impacts of social media were described in 2 papers. CONCLUSIONS Social media may be a useful strategy to provide health messages and sharing of content among Aboriginal people, but objective impacts on health remain unknown. More research is necessary on social media as a way to connect, communicate, and improve Aboriginal health with particular emphasis on community control, self-empowerment, and decolonization.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e022931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Taylor ◽  
Claudia Pagliari

IntroductionThe rising popularity of social media, since their inception around 20 years ago, has been echoed in the growth of health-related research using data derived from them. This has created a demand for literature reviews to synthesise this emerging evidence base and inform future activities. Existing reviews tend to be narrow in scope, with limited consideration of the different types of data, analytical methods and ethical issues involved. There has also been a tendency for research to be siloed within different academic communities (eg, computer science, public health), hindering knowledge translation. To address these limitations, we will undertake a comprehensive scoping review, to systematically capture the broad corpus of published, health-related research based on social media data. Here, we present the review protocol and the pilot analyses used to inform it.MethodsA version of Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage scoping review framework will be followed: (1) identifying the research question; (2) identifying the relevant literature; (3) selecting the studies; (4) charting the data and (5) collating, summarising and reporting the results. To inform the search strategy, we developed an inclusive list of keyword combinations related to social media, health and relevant methodologies. The frequency and variability of terms were charted over time and cross referenced with significant events, such as the advent of Twitter. Five leading health, informatics, business and cross-disciplinary databases will be searched: PubMed, Scopus, Association of Computer Machinery, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, alongside the Google search engine. There will be no restriction by date.Ethics and disseminationThe review focuses on published research in the public domain therefore no ethics approval is required. The completed review will be submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary open access journal, and conferences on public health and digital research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omolola Salako ◽  
Alero A. Roberts ◽  
Victor I. Isibor ◽  
Oluwatimilehin Babatunde ◽  
Omolara Fatiregun ◽  
...  

Breast cancer is a major disease in Nigeria; in 2012, 27,304 new occurrences were diagnosed, and the number of mortalities was 13,960. Greater than 70% of patients present with advanced disease, which has a poor survival outcome. The mortality rates are high mainly because of a lack of awareness about breast health, screening guidelines, and treatment centers, and because of sociocultural barriers. In Nigeria, health care professionals remain the backbone for the provision of medical information to the public. This is a study of the innovative ways that breast health and cancer awareness were promoted across communities and institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria, in 2015. Several community awareness campaigns were carried out in the forms of health talks, breast cancer screenings, radio and television interviews, and campaigns on social media. Anomalies noticed during the screenings were promptly referred to appropriate hospitals for additional treatment. The campaign culminated in the #12KLLP, or 12,000 people light Lagos pink, which was a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest human awareness ribbon formed for breast cancer. There was a total reach of 28,774,812 people across platforms: 285,318 were on social media, 3,620 were in communities, 7,466,276 were on the website, 20 million were through media events, 12,000 were through publications, 7,598 were verified participants at the Guinness World Record, and approximately 1 million were through blogs. Eighty partnerships were made with various private and government institutions to facilitate different aspects of the campaign. The community members were able to learn about the need for early detection and awareness; volunteerism and corporate social responsibility were promoted among individuals and corporate institutions.


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