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As the world’s largest social networking site, Facebook is filled with people seeking to reconnect with old friends and share news and updates with friends, family and colleagues. But others have found another use for the site: to set up virtual support groups and share clinical information about chronic illnesses, such as diabetes.
“We really didn’t know much about the kind of information being purveyed on Facebook pages focused on chronic disease, or about the kind of information being requested,” said William H. Shrank, MD, MSHS, of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, senior author of a study that looks at online social networking by patients with diabetes. “In that way, this area is sort of the ‘wild west’ of social media. There’s a lot of promise, but there’s a lot we don’t know about it.”
Results of the study, which was published in the Oct. 13 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, show that more than one in four comments on Facebook diabetes communities is promotional in nature, generally for non-FDA-approved products.
However, the majority of posts described users’ personal experiences with diabetes management, from recommendations for websites that offer dietary guidelines to providing day-to-day support for others living with diabetes.
“One of the series of postings we looked at was from a triathlete who started a discussion about the metabolic needs of diabetic triathletes,” said Shrank. “He got pointed feedback from another athlete, which turned out to be information that, in reality, his primary care physician might not have even known.”
Shrank and his colleagues note that the emotional support patients can get from Facebook is invaluable.
“Many of the patients were talking about the challenges and difficulties they faced related to their diabetes,” said study lead author Jeremy A. Greene, MD, PhD, of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics. “The virtual support group aspect also generated new opportunities for re-framing their narratives of living with chronic disease in positive and pragmatic terms.”