The influence of health-specific social network site use on the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people

Erfani, SS; Blount, Y; Abedin, B

The influence of health-specific social network site use on the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people

Erfani, SS

Blount, Y Abedin, B

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2016, 23 (3), pp. 467 - 476
Issue Date:: 2016-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Erfani, SS https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5232-9295	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Blount, Y	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Abedin, B https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3426-443X	en_US
dc.date.available	2020-05-25T19:05:51Z
dc.date.issued	2016-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2016, 23 (3), pp. 467 - 476	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1067-5027	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/41330
dc.description.abstract	© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. Objective We aimed to explore and examine how and in what ways the use of social network sites (SNSs) can improve health outcomes, specifi- cally better psychological well-being, for cancer-affected people. Methods Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with users of the Ovarian Cancer Australia Facebook page (OCA Facebook), the ex- emplar SNS used in this study. Twenty-five women affected by ovarian cancer who were users of OCA Facebook were interviewed. A multi-theory perspective was employed to interpret the data. Results Most of the study participants used OCA Facebook daily. Some users were passive and only observed created content, while other users actively posted content and communicated with other members. Analysis showed that the use of this SNS enhanced social support for users, improved the users' experiences of social connectedness, and helped users learn and develop social presence, which ultimately improved their psy- chological well-being. Discussion The strong theoretical underpinning of our research and empirically derived results led to a new understanding of the capacity of SNSs to improve psychological well-being. Our study provides evidence showing how the integration of these tools into existing health services can enhance patients' psychological well-being. This study also contributes to the body of knowledge on the implications of SNS use for improving the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people. Conclusion This research assessed the relationship between the use of SNSs, specifically OCA Facebook, and the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people. The study confirmed that using OCA Facebook can improve psychological well-being by demonstrating the potential value of SNSs as a support service in the healthcare industry.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1093/jamia/ocv170	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Medical Informatics	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Animals	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Rats	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Ovarian Neoplasms	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Mental Health	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Psychological Theory	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Social Support	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adolescent	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Interviews as Topic	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Social Media	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Cancer Survivors	en_US
dc.title	The influence of health-specific social network site use on the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	23	en_US
utslib.for	080608 Information Systems Development Methodologies	en_US
utslib.for	080603 Conceptual Modelling	en_US
utslib.for	08 Information and Computing Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	09 Engineering	en_US
utslib.for	11 Medical and Health Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Information, Systems and Modelling
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - HCTD - Human Centred Technology Design
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - PERSWADE - Centre on Persuasive Systems for Wise Adaptive Living
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	23	en_US

Abstract:

© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. Objective We aimed to explore and examine how and in what ways the use of social network sites (SNSs) can improve health outcomes, specifi- cally better psychological well-being, for cancer-affected people. Methods Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with users of the Ovarian Cancer Australia Facebook page (OCA Facebook), the ex- emplar SNS used in this study. Twenty-five women affected by ovarian cancer who were users of OCA Facebook were interviewed. A multi-theory perspective was employed to interpret the data. Results Most of the study participants used OCA Facebook daily. Some users were passive and only observed created content, while other users actively posted content and communicated with other members. Analysis showed that the use of this SNS enhanced social support for users, improved the users' experiences of social connectedness, and helped users learn and develop social presence, which ultimately improved their psy- chological well-being. Discussion The strong theoretical underpinning of our research and empirically derived results led to a new understanding of the capacity of SNSs to improve psychological well-being. Our study provides evidence showing how the integration of these tools into existing health services can enhance patients' psychological well-being. This study also contributes to the body of knowledge on the implications of SNS use for improving the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people. Conclusion This research assessed the relationship between the use of SNSs, specifically OCA Facebook, and the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people. The study confirmed that using OCA Facebook can improve psychological well-being by demonstrating the potential value of SNSs as a support service in the healthcare industry.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/41330