Exploring strategies for using Social Media to self-manage health care when living with and beyond breast cancer : in-depth qualitative study

Ure, CM ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5021-1947, Cooper-Ryan, AM ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8305-8587, Condie, JM ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0811-0517 and Galpin, AJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7699-8706 2020, 'Exploring strategies for using Social Media to self-manage health care when living with and beyond breast cancer : in-depth qualitative study' , Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22 (5) , e16902.

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Abstract

Background: As breast cancer survival rates improve and structural health resources are increasingly being stretched, health providers require people living with and beyond breast cancer (LwBBC) to self-manage aspects of their care. Objective: This study aimed to explore how women use and experience social media to self-manage their psychosocial needs and support self-management across the breast cancer continuum. Methods: The experiences of 21 women (age range 27-64 years) were explored using an in-depth qualitative approach. The women varied in the duration of their experiences of LwBBC, which facilitated insights into how they evolve and change their self-management strategies over time. Semistructured interviews were analyzed inductively using a thematic analysis, a polytextual analysis, and voice-centered relational methods. Results: The use of multiple social media platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter, enabled women to self-manage aspects of their care by satisfying needs for timely, relevant, and appropriate support, by navigating identities disrupted by diagnosis and treatment and by allowing them to (re)gain a sense of control. Women described extending their everyday use of multiple platforms to self-manage their care. However, women experienced social media as both empowering and dislocating, as their engagement was impacted by their everyday experiences of LwBBC. Conclusions: Health care professionals (HCPs) need to be more aware, and open to the possibilities, of women using multiple social media resources as self-management tools. It is important for HCPs to initiate value-free discussions and create the space necessary for women to share how social media resources support a tailored and timely self-managed approach to their unique psychosocial needs.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Article originally called "Social media use when living with and beyond breast cancer : exploring strategies for self-managed healthcare"
Schools:	Schools > School of Health and Society > Centre for Health Sciences Research
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Medical Internet Research
Publisher:	JMIR Publications
ISSN:	1439-4456
Related URLs:	Publication
Depositing User:	USIR Admin
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2019 11:05
Last Modified:	28 Aug 2021 13:05
URI:	http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/52909

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