Qualitative Analysis of the Content Found in Online Discussion Boards for Urethral Stricture Disease and Urethroplasty

Thematic analysis of the psycho-sexual symptoms in patients with Peyronie's disease present on online forums

Peyronie's disease (PD) is a fibrotic disorder of the tunica albuginea that may result in penile deformity, pain, a palpable plaque, and erectile dysfunction. In order to understand the psycho-sexual impacts of PD on patients and their partners, we selected three online forums containing the largest number of threads on PD. Threads focusing on the psycho-sexual impacts posted from January 1, 2011 to January 1, 2021 were compiled, and thematic analysis was performed on Dedoose. There were 277 unique posters, including 225 patients and 52 partners. Eighty-four categories and five themes were developed including information and social support, physical symptoms, psycho-sexual symptoms, treatment and effect, and impacts on partners and relationship. Emotional distress including depressed mood (n = 75, 33.3%) and feelings of isolation (n = 41, 18.2%) was prevalent. Partners developed sexual dysfunction including sexual dissatisfaction (n = 11, 21.2%) and dyspareunia (n = 4, 7.7%). Relationships experienced disruption (n = 14, 5.1%) or termination (n = 10, 3.6%). Posters received psychological treatment including psychotherapy (n = 20, 8.9%) and antidepressants (n = 17, 7.6%). Of these, 12 reported improvement and 11 stated no improvement. On these forums, psychological burden affecting individuals with PD and their partners is reported. Few seek help from a psychologist or therapist, and psychological distress may persist even after successful PD treatment. Further research is needed to identify strategies for effective psychological management.

Factors Affecting Engagement in Web-Based Health Care Patient Information: Narrative Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND

Web-based content is rapidly becoming the primary source of health care information. There is a pressing need for web-based health care content to not only be accurate but also be engaging. Improved engagement of people with web-based health care content has the potential to inform as well as influence behavioral change to enable people to make better health care choices. The factors associated with better engagement with web-based health care content have previously not been considered.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study are to identify the factors that affect engagement with web-based health care content and develop a framework to be considered when creating such content.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of the PubMed and MEDLINE database was performed from January 1, 1946, to January 5, 2020. The reference lists of all included studies were also searched. The Medical Subject Headings database was used to derive the following keywords: "patient information," "online," "internet," "web," and "content." All studies in English pertaining to the factors affecting engagement in web-based health care patient information were included. No restrictions were set on the study type. Analysis of the themes arising from the results was performed using inductive content analysis.

RESULTS

The search yielded 814 articles, of which 56 (6.9%) met our inclusion criteria. The studies ranged from observational and noncontrolled studies to quasi-experimental studies. Overall, there was significant heterogeneity in the types of interventions and outcome assessments, which made quantitative assessment difficult. Consensus among all authors of this study resulted in six categories that formed the basis of a framework to assess the factors affecting engagement in web-based health care content: easy to understand, support, adaptability, accessibility, visuals and content, and credibility and completeness.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a paucity of high-quality data relating to the factors that improve the quality of engagement with web-based health care content. Our framework summarizes the reported studies, which may be useful to health care content creators. An evaluation of the utility of web-based content to engage users is of significant importance and may be accessible through tools such as the Net Promoter score. Web 3.0 technology and development of the field of psychographics for health care offer further potential for development. Future work may also involve improvement of the framework through a co-design process.

Qualitative analysis of Amazon customer reviews of penile clamps for male urinary incontinence

AIMS

Penile clamps offer an alternative to manage male urinary incontinence in patients who are unfit for surgery. Patient experience with penile clamps is poorly understood. Our study elucidates patient opinions on commercially available penile clamps and the factors that associate with favorable and unfavorable opinions.

METHODS

We collected Amazon reviews of all penile clamps marketed for male urinary incontinence from November 2011 to January 2020 and qualitatively assessed the overall sentiment towards penile clamps, key praises and key complaints. Covariates such as designated Amazon star rating were further explored for association with coding patterns.

RESULTS

Amazon reviews of penile clamps were found to be more positive (n = 425) in overall sentiment than negative (n = 294). The most frequent praise was effective incontinence control (n = 334) and the most frequent complaint was bad design or material (n = 166). The majority of reviews were for lower priced penile clamps, had higher Amazon star ratings, were written for Wiesner-produced clamps, and were written more recently (i.e., 2015-2020). Penile clamps with higher Amazon star ratings were more often coded positive and with a praise compared to lower rated penile clamps.

CONCLUSIONS

Penile clamps are seen favorably by users as an effective treatment modality for male urinary incontinence. User reviews suggest opportunities for improvement in penile clamp design. The most frequently reviewed clamp seen positively is the Wiesner Incontinence Clamp Penile Clamp whereas the most frequently reviewed clamp seen negatively is the Pacey Cuff Male Incontinence Device.

A Thematic Analysis of the Online Discussion Board, FrankTalk, Regarding Penile Implant

INTRODUCTION

Medical websites and discussion boards are commonly used by patients to obtain information. The online forum FrankTalk.org provides a venue specifically for men to discuss sexual dysfunction and particularly inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP). By querying and better understanding the content of this forum related to implants, we can better understand patient concerns before and after IPP.

AIM

The aim of this study is to understand the main topics being discussed about IPPs online and to use these topics to understand patient concerns and patient needs and to improve care.

METHODS

Messages posted in a 6-month window from January 2018 to June 2018 under the topic "Implant" were identified on FrankTalk.org. Posts were broken down into preoperative and postoperative and then organized using a 3-stage analysis to determine central themes of each post: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

The primary outcome measure is the prevalence of each selective code.

RESULTS

Of all 587 posts, 304 were written preoperatively with the most common theme being "Size" (23.0%), followed by "seeking support" (18.4%). 283 posts were considered postoperative, of which the most common theme was "Concern about healing" (22.6 %) which questioned if they needed to see a physician, followed by size concerns (20.1%).When analyzed with the 3-stage coding system, there were a total of 41 axial codes which were organized into 6 selective codes: "Social Support" (27.8% of all posts), "Pre-Operative Worries" (23.58%),"Technical Issues" (11.1%), "Prosthesis Logistics" (14.37%), "Post-Operative Worries" (20.22%), "Forum and Misc" (2.93%) for topics outside the scope of penile prosthesis.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

The percentage of men seeking medical opinion is concerning, and providers should consider using resources to better educate patients on normal postoperative findings. Implanters should continue to preoperatively counsel patients on size-related changes with surgery.

STRENGTH & LIMITATIONS

Strengths include the use of a common online website for men to discuss IPPs and a systematic coding system. Limitations include the applicability of these results to nonheterosexual men as these are likely oversampled in this population. The inherent bias of those willing to post on an online forum may have influenced results along with no oversight for factual accuracy.

CONCLUSION

Patients use online discussion boards like FrankTalk.org for social support, medical advice, and validation of their concerns. Providers should be aware of these online topic focuses to help open a discussion with patients about concerns they may feel are difficult to approach with providers. Lu JY, Miller EJ, Welliver C. A Thematic Analysis of the Online Discussion Board, FrankTalk, Regarding Penile Implant. J Sex Med 2020;17:325-330.