Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32924958›Full record

ArticleJMIR diabetes2020

Facebook as a Medium for the Support and Enhancement of Ambulatory Care for People With Diabetes: Qualitative Realist Evaluation of a Real-World Trial.

Bryan Cleal, Ingrid Willaing, Mette T Hoybye, Henrik H Thomsen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR diabetes, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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

4 authors.

Bryan Cleal *Diabetes Management Research, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3065-7364
Ingrid Willaing *Diabetes Management Research, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3082-8816
Mette T Hoybye *Interacting Minds Center, Insitute for Clinical Medicine, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6914-2697
Henrik H Thomsen *Department of Endocrinology, Regional Hospital Viborg, Region Midtjylland, Viborg, Denmark.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0522-0320

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is a growing focus on the potential uses, benefits, and limitations of social media in the context of health care communication. In this study, we have sought to evaluate an initiative pioneered at a hospital in Denmark that uses Facebook to support and enhance patient-provider communication about diabetes.

objectiveThis paper aims to evaluate the success of the trial according to its initial objectives and to assess its potential scalability.

methodsThe study was undertaken in a clinic for diabetes and hormonal diseases at a large regional hospital in Denmark. Using a realist evaluation approach, we identified 4 key components in the program theory of the initiative, which we formulated as context-mechanism-outcome configurations (eg, complex and iterative chains of causality). These configurations informed data gathering and analysis. Primary data sources were the activity and content in the Facebook group, in the form of posts, likes, and comments, and interviews with patients (n=26) and staff (n=6) at the clinic.

resultsNew developments in diabetes technology were the most popular posts in the forum, judged by number of likes and comments. Otherwise, information specific to the clinic received the most attention. All 4 components of the program theory were compromised to varying degrees, either as a result of failings in the anticipated mechanisms of change or contextual factors derived from the mode of implementation.

conclusionsSocial media serves well as a conduit for imagining positive change, but this can be a strength and weakness when attempting to enact change via concrete interventions, where stakeholder expectations may be unreasonably high or incompatible. Nonetheless, such initiatives may possess intangible benefits difficult to measure in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Indexed as

Facebookonline patient-provider interactionrealistic evaluationsocial media

Identifiers

PMID32924958
PMCPMC7522729

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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.