Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26228234›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2015

Twitter Social Media is an Effective Tool for Breast Cancer Patient Education and Support: Patient-Reported Outcomes by Survey.

Deanna J Attai, Michael S Cowher, Mohammed Al-Hamadani, Jody M Schoger, Alicia C Staley, Jeffrey Landercasper

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Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 153 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
153citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

153 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  9. The use of social media interventions for breast cancer survivors: a narrative review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Review
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93 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Deanna J AttaiUCLA Health Burbank Breast Care, Burbank, CA, United States. dattai@mednet.ucla.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1893-1183
Michael S CowherORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6377-1131
Mohammed Al-HamadaniORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3966-4675
Jody M SchogerORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8686-9756
Alicia C StaleyORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5321-3179
Jeffrey LandercasperORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4000-4546

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite reported benefits, many women do not attend breast cancer support groups. Abundant online resources for support exist, but information regarding the effectiveness of participation is lacking. We report the results of a Twitter breast cancer support community participant survey.

objectiveThe aim was to determine the effectiveness of social media as a tool for breast cancer patient education and decreasing anxiety.

methodsThe Breast Cancer Social Media Twitter support community (#BCSM) began in July 2011. Institutional review board approval with a waiver of informed consent was obtained for a deidentified survey that was posted for 2 weeks on Twitter and on the #BCSM blog and Facebook page.

resultsThere were 206 respondents to the survey. In all, 92.7% (191/206) were female. Respondents reported increased knowledge about breast cancer in the following domains: overall knowledge (80.9%, 153/189), survivorship (85.7%, 162/189), metastatic breast cancer (79.4%, 150/189), cancer types and biology (70.9%, 134/189), clinical trials and research (66.1%, 125/189), treatment options (55.6%, 105/189), breast imaging (56.6%, 107/189), genetic testing and risk assessment (53.9%, 102/189), and radiotherapy (43.4%, 82/189). Participation led 31.2% (59/189) to seek a second opinion or bring additional information to the attention of their treatment team and 71.9% (136/189) reported plans to increase their outreach and advocacy efforts as a result of participation. Levels of reported anxiety before and after participation were analyzed: 29 of 43 (67%) patients who initially reported "high or extreme" anxiety reported "low or no" anxiety after participation (P<.001). Also, no patients initially reporting low or no anxiety before participation reported an increase to high or extreme anxiety after participation.

conclusionsThis study demonstrates that breast cancer patients' perceived knowledge increases and their anxiety decreases by participation in a Twitter social media support group.

Indexed as

Patient Outcome AssessmentSelf ReportSocial MediaAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBreast NeoplasmsFemaleHealth EducationHumansKnowledgeMaleMiddle AgedPatient Education as TopicSelf-Help GroupsSocial Supportbreast cancereducationpatient outcome assessmentsocial mediasocial support

Identifiers

PMID26228234
PMCPMC4705354

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.