The use of computer mediated communication in providing patient support: A review of the research literature

Patient Expectation in China: Exploring Patient Satisfaction in Online and Offline Patient-Provider Communication

Introduction

Online patient-provider communication (OPPC) has become an alternative approach to seek medical advice and contact health professionals. However, its penetration rate remains low, and the underlying mechanisms of patient satisfaction with OPPC are underexamined. This study investigates the role of patient expectancy and the expectancy violation of patient-centered communication (PCC) in patient satisfaction in emerging OPPC scenarios by integrating the concepts of PCC and expectancy violation theory (EVT).

Method

An online survey was conducted in October 2019 among Chinese respondents who experienced OPPC and offline medical services.

Results

The 471 qualified participants reported high satisfaction with OPPC (mean [M] = 3.63, standard deviation [SD] = 0.81). However, patient satisfaction with OPPC was lower than that in offline medical encounters (M = 3.75, SD = 0.80), and patients suffered a higher expectancy violation of PCC in OPPC scenarios (M = 0.45, SD = 0.76) than in offline medical encounters (M = 0.27, SD = 0.69). Nevertheless, patients' satisfaction with OPPC significantly increased as the frequency of OPPC usage increased (β = 0.209, p < 0.001). This positive relationship was partially mediated by the decrease in the expectancy violation of PCC in OPPC scenarios.

Discussion

The study can contribute to increasing the adoption of OPPC and reducing the burden of offline medical resources.

Exploring nurses' online perspectives and social networks during a global pandemic COVID-19

Objectives

Examine the online interactions, social networks, and perspectives of nursing actors on COVID‐19 from conversations on Twitter to understand how the profession responded to this global pandemic.

Design

Mixed methods.

Sample

Ten‐thousand five‐hundred and seventy‐four tweets by 2790 individuals and organizations.

Measurements

NodeXL software was used for social network analysis to produce a network visualization. The betweenness centrality algorithm identified key users who were influential in COVID‐19 related conversations on Twitter. Inductive content analysis enabled exploration of tweet content. A communicative figurations framework guided the study.

Results

Nursing actors formed different social groupings, and communicated with one another across groups. Tweets covered four themes; (1) outbreak and clinical management of the infectious disease, (2) education and information sharing, (3) social, economic, and political context, and (4) working together and supporting each other.

Conclusion

In addition to spreading knowledge, nurses tried to reach out through social media to political and healthcare leaders to advocate for improvements needed to address COVID‐19. However, they primarily conversed within their own professional community. Action is needed to better understand how social media is and can be used by nurses for health communication, and to improve their preparedness to be influential on social media beyond the nursing community.

Turn to the Internet First? Using Online Medical Behavioral Data to Forecast COVID-19 Epidemic Trend

The surveillance and forecast of newly confirmed cases are important to mobilize medical resources and facilitate policymaking during a public health emergency. Digital surveillance using data available online has increasingly become a trend with the advancement of the Internet. In this study, we assessed the predictive value of multiple online medical behavioral data, including online medical consultation (OMC), online medical appointment (OMA), and online medical search (OMS) for the regional outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 in Shenzhen, China during January 1, 2020 to March 5, 2020. Multivariate vector autoregression models were used for the prediction. The results identified a novel predictor, OMC, which can forecast the disease trend up to 2 days ahead of the official reports of confirmed cases from the local health department. OMS data had relatively weaker predictive power than OMC in our model, and OMA data failed to predict the confirmed cases. This study highlights the importance of OMC data and has implication in providing evidence-based guidelines for local authorities to evaluate risks and allocate resources during the pandemic.

Email Use Reconsidered in Health Professions Education: Viewpoint

Email has become a popular means of communication in the past 40 years, with more than 200 billion emails sent each day worldwide. When used appropriately, email can be an effective and useful form of correspondence, although improper practices, such as email incivility, can present challenges. Email is ubiquitous in education and health care, where it is used for student-to-teacher, provider-to-provider, and patient-to-provider communications, but not all students, faculty members, and health professionals are skilled in its use. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities posed by email communication in health professions education and reveals important deficiencies in training, as well as steps that can be taken by health professions educators to address them. Recommendations are offered to help health professions educators develop approaches for teaching email professionalism.

Understanding the role of Facebook to support women with endometriosis: A Malaysian perspective

AIMS

To examine the pertinent issues discussed by endometriosis patients in Malaysia on MyEndosis Facebook group as an alternative platform for online support.

METHODS

Using thematic analysis based on three frameworks, 120 posted messages and comments were examined from MyEndosis Facebook group-a support group for women with endometriosis from January to July 2014.

RESULTS

Results showed the issues discussed were (a) personal struggles, (b) medication and treatment, (c) alternative medication, (d) side effects, and (e) medication recommended by doctors. While using this social medium, users found (a) emotional support, (b) esteem support, (c) information support, (d) network support, and (e) tangible assistance in their engagement with others.

CONCLUSION

The analysis suggested that users' interactions were structured around information, emotion, and community building, which many doctors and nurses were not aware of. The group was shaped as a social network where peer users share social support, cultivate companionship, and exert social influence.

Online social support group use by breastfeeding mothers: A content analysis

Background

Breastfeeding is a public health priority and lack of breastfeeding support a contributing factor to the low initiation and continuation rates in the UK. Online social support groups are being increasingly utilised by breastfeeding mothers and research into this phenomenon is only now emerging.

Aim

To document and describe the posts made within an online breastfeeding support group.

Method

The posts made to an online breastfeeding social support group between 1^st and 7^th November 2016 were recorded using an unobtrusive non-participant design, and subject to systematic message content analysis. Themes relating to topics of discussion were deduced from the data and concepts of social support used to analyse the data.

Results

The group received 501 posts over the week (m = 72, range 20–93 a day) and was accessed 24 hours a day. Eighty-two percent of posts received comments (m = 12, range 0–415, SD = 24) and 93% received likes (m = 11, range = 0–641, SD 42). The group was used from pregnancy and until the child was over two years old. The majority of infants discussed were aged 6 weeks to 6 months. Informational support was the greatest reason for use (65%), followed by esteem support (18%) and emotional support (10%). Thirteen topics of conversations were identified.

Conclusion

Mothers are using online social support groups in their thousands to seek information from people in similar situations. Not only do they pose questions but they discuss a range of parenting and breastfeeding topics in an environment that aims to support and facilitate responses. The impact of this support avenue within the wider context of professional, family and offline support warrants further investigation through a qualitative approach.