Use of Online Communities among People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

People with diabetes require continuous self-monitoring and face numerous decisions in their day-to-day lives. Therefore, on many occasions, they need more support than that provided by health professionals. In this context, peer support in online diabetes communities could be a useful tool. The purpose of the review is to describe, analyze and synthesize the available evidence on the use and health out-comes of online communities for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. Searches were performed PubMed, Web of Science, CINHAL, Scopus and Cochrane databases.

RECENT FINDINGS

From 1821 identified documents, 6 articles were included. These studies explored the characteristics of diabetes online communities and the population features. Besides, the results were classified according to whether they were clinical, psychosocial, or addressed people's experiences with the online community. The analysis underscores their value in facilitating communication, improving diabetes management, and enhancing psychosocial well-being. Future investigations should prioritize longitudinal assessments to elucidate the sustained impact of community engagement and optimize user participation for enhanced patient outcomes. The growing relevance of new technologies has led to a significant number of individuals with chronic illnesses seeking peer support. Online health communities have emerged as virtual spaces where individuals with shared health interests interact and form relationships. Within these digital spaces, individuals can engage in peer interaction, observe behaviors, and mutually benefit, potentially leading to improved attitudes toward the disease.

Effect and usability of the use of twitter as a complementary teaching tool in different subjects of nursing studies: Educational intervention study

BACKGROUND

Some social networks, such as Twitter (now known as X), have proven to be very useful for sharing and discussing multiple aspects related to the healthcare field. However, the use of Twitter as a method of communication and knowledge transfer to nursing students has been limited.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the usability and effect of an educational intervention for monitoring additional content, through the social network Twitter, of various subjects of nursing studies (clinical nursing, community nursing, and nursing fundamentals).

DESIGN

An exploratory experimental study was carried out through an educational intervention during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years.

SETTINGS

Faculty of Nursing at the University of Salamanca, Spain. Participants were 308 students.

METHODS

Students used Twitter to receive tweets about news or links to subject-related content. They also completed a pre-post questionnaire.

RESULTS

A high degree of visualization and interaction of the study's Twitter account stands out, mainly in the subject clinical nursing. In relation to usability, the participants stated that they strongly agreed with aspects such as "thinking that it was easy to use the account" (59.4 %) as well as "imagining that the majority of colleagues would learn very quickly to use said account" (46.5 %). Students who used the account at least once a day obtained higher scores on the post-study knowledge questionnaire than those who used it less than once a day (p < 0.05), or those who used it 2 or 3 times during the study (p = 0.010).

CONCLUSIONS

The group of participants who used the Twitter account at least once a day stated that using the account was easy and that they would like to use it more frequently. Likewise, greater use of this tool was associated with a better score on a post-study knowledge questionnaire.

Associations between dimensions of the social environment and cardiometabolic risk factors: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim

The social environment (SE), including social contacts, norms and support, is an understudied element of the living environment which impacts health. We aim to comprehensively summarize the evidence on the association between the SE and risk factors of cardiometabolic disease (CMD).

Methods

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis based on studies published in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection from inception to 16 February 2021. Studies that used a risk factor of CMD, e.g., HbA1c or blood pressure, as outcome and social environmental factors such as area-level deprivation or social network size as independent variables were included. Titles and abstracts were screened in duplicate. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data appraisal and extraction were based on the study protocol published in PROSPERO. Data were synthesized through vote counting and meta-analyses.

Results

From the 7521 records screened, 168 studies reported 1050 associations were included in this review. Four meta-analyses based on 24 associations suggested that an unfavorable social environment was associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic risk factors, with three of them being statistically significant. For example, individuals that experienced more economic and social disadvantage had a higher "CVD risk scores" (OR = 1.54, 95%CI: 1.35 to 1.84). Of the 458 associations included in the vote counting, 323 (71%) pointed towards unfavorable social environments being associated with higher CMD risk.

Conclusion

Higher economic and social disadvantage seem to contribute to unfavorable CMD risk factor profiles, while evidence for other dimensions of the social environment is limited.

Promoting a more diverse and inclusive research workforce through the research scholars program

BACKGROUND

Novel and comprehensive approaches are needed to address shortcomings in the diversity and inclusiveness of the scientific workforce. In response to this need and informed by multiple programs and data sources, we created the Research Scholars Program (RSP). The RSP is a yearlong program for early-career faculty with an overall objective to overcome barriers to the academic success, retention, progression, and promotion of groups underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research. The goal of the RSP is to increase research confidence and productivity, build a supportive research community, and reduce isolation by providing personal and group research enrichment to junior faculty through professional development, mentorship, and networking.

METHODS

We adapted evidence-based approaches for our institutional context and vetted the RSP across our campus. The resulting RSP consists of three main elements: (1) five levels of Mosaic Mentorship; (2) group and tailored professional development programming; and (3) scientific and social networking. To determine the potential of the RSP to improve research confidence critical to success, we used a modified shortened version of the Clinical Research Appraisal Inventory (CRAI-12) to assess participants' confidence in performing a variety of research tasks before and after program participation. We collected information about retention, promotion, and grants submitted and awarded. Additionally, we conducted semi-structured exit interviews with each scholar after program participation to identify programmatic strengths and areas for improvement. Data for Cohorts 1 and 2 (N = 12) were analyzed.

RESULTS

Our assessment finds, with one exception, increasing confidence in participants' research skills across all items, ranging from 0.4 (4.7%) to 2.6 (40.6%). In their exit interviews, the Research Scholars (RS) described their improved productivity and increased sense of belonging and support from others. Research Scholars noted numerous components of the RSP as strengths, including the Mosaic Mentorship model, professional development programming, and opportunities for both informal and formal interactions. Respondents identified time pressure, a lack of feedback, and unclear expectations of the various mentorship roles as areas in which the program can improve.

CONCLUSION

Preliminary findings indicate that the RSP is successful in building the research confidence of underrepresented and disadvantaged early-career faculty. While this report focuses on the development and protocol of the RSP, additional cohorts and data will provide the evidence base to support dissemination as a national model of research professional development. Such programming is critical to ensure sustainable support structures, institutional networks, infrastructure, and resources that will improve discovery and equity through inclusive excellence.

The effects of social networks on HIV risk behaviors among Vietnamese female sex workers: a qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

Female sex workers (FSWs) experience heightened vulnerability to HIV and other health harms, and cross-border FSWs face additional challenges due to language issues, higher mobility, and weaker negotiation skills. Given the critical role of social network factors in HIV transmission, it is imperative to explore the social network characteristics of Vietnamese cross-border FSWs in China to enhance AIDS prevention and control.

METHODS

We conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 Vietnamese FSWs in Hekou County, Yunnan Province from May to July 2018. The samples were selected using a purposive sampling strategy and stopped when reached theoretical saturation. Data collection and analysis were conducted iteratively to identify themes within the data. Participants reported their social relationships and how these relationships affected their HIV risk behaviours. All the interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and reviewed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

Among 22 Vietnamese FSWs, the median age was 23.5. Concerning social networks, interviews revealed that their social networks were composed of three components: Workplace networks (customer, boss, colleague), Hometown networks (spouse or boyfriend, family member, fellow villager), and Social institutions networks (Chinese social institutions network, Vietnamese social institutions network). None of these networks can simply support or hinder Vietnamese FSWs' preventive high-risk HIV behaviours, and the impact is achieved through each network's ways. Within the workplace network, the predominant influence is the ascendancy-submissiveness dynamic that exists among customers, bosses, and VFSWs. In the hometown network, familial responsibilities emerge as the principal factor impacting VFSWs. Meanwhile, within the social institution network, pivotal roles are played by the Chinese CDC and the Vietnamese government in the dissemination of HIV knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

The social networks of Vietnamese female sex workers exert a dual impact on high-risk HIV behaviors. Interventions should be designed and tailored to address the specific contextual factors and challenges associated with social networks among cross-border FSWs in China and other similar settings.

Smartphone addiction prevalence, patterns of use, and experienced musculoskeletal discomfort during the COVID-19 pandemic in a general Iranian population

BACKGROUND

Smartphone usage is an essential everyday tool in Iran, however problematic use has escalated and become a concern for the Iranian health policy system, particularly during and following the COVID-19 Pandemic. This study's aim was investigation of the prevalence of smartphone addiction, patterns of use, and the relationship to specific demographic characteristics and associated musculoskeletal disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A descriptive-analytical correlational study recruited participants from a population of convenience (n = 2344) who were smartphone owners with > 1 year of use. For demographic information an electronic self-report questionnaire collected age, sex, marital status, usage for daily hours, and patterns. To assess addiction levels, the 'Smartphone Addiction Scale-short version' (SAS-SV) patient-reported outcome measure was used (cut-off = 31). For experienced discomfort, the Extended Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (ENMQ) was used.

RESULTS

The participants (female = 66.6%, n = 1561, mean age = 29.07 ± 12.34 years, range 6-60 years) smartphone use averaged 5.75 ± 3.44 h/day. The general prevalence of smartphone addiction was 46.16% (females = 46.06%, males = 46.36%; married = 44.5%, single = 47.63%). School students had the greatest addiction (53.2%) and those with a higher education to or above a Master's degree were the lowest (39.38%). The highest pattern of use was for social networks at 89.1% of participants (female = 88.34%, male = 90.54%). The areas of highest reported discomfort were the eyes (43.5%) and neck (43.3%). A significant correlation was found between smartphone addiction and hours of daily usage, and the amount of usage increased during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

CONCLUSION

A high level of smartphone addiction in the Iranian population was found to have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those most affected were unmarried individuals and school students, with the predominant areas being the eyes and neck. Health decision-makers should consider these findings when developing recommendations and plans for public health, particularly those focused on students.

Social support in low-income women with Fibromyalgia Syndrome from a sub-urban and peri-urban areas of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain): a mixed method study

BACKGROUND

Women with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) can benefit form adequate social support to fight the consequences of their illness, but the extent to which this is available to those with low incomes who live in depressed areas of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) is currently unknown. The purpose of this study was to explore social support in low-incomes women with FMS in sub-urban and peri-urban areas of Tenerife.

METHODOLOGY

A sequential exploratory mixed method study was carried out from January 20, 2023, to June 10, 2023, at the Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Association of Tenerife (AFITEN) using non-probability convenience sampling. Social support was analyzed quantitatively through MOS-SSS survey and Duke-UNC-11 questionnaire, while qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews to identify social support providers and analyze their satisfactions levels.

RESULTS

A total of 49 women, with a mean age of 57.80 years-old (SD = 13.25) were finally included in this study. MOSS-SSS and Duke-UNC-11 both indicated lower social support levels at 68.6 (SD =16.3) and 38.0 (SD = 9.74), respectively. The qualitative analysis revealed that partners and friends provided the most significant support with the highest satisfaction scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The socioeconomic status of low-income women with FMS living in sub-urban and peri-urban areas of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) influences on their social support, with the affective support and confidentiality being the most affected dimensions.

Psychosocial Determinants of Knee Osteoarthritis Progression: Results from the Promoting Independence in Our Seniors with Arthritis Study

BACKGROUND

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of physical disability among older adults. While established risk factors for knee OA include age and increased body weight, few studies have examined psychosocial risk factors or progression of knee OA.

METHODS

The Promoting Independence in our Seniors with Arthritis study recruited participants aged 65 years and over from orthopedic outpatients and community engagement events. Participants were invited to annual visits during which knee OA symptoms were assessed with the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), social network using the 6-item Lubben Social Network Scale and anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Knee OA worsening was defined by a 5% reduction in mean KOOS scores at the last visit compared to the first visit.

RESULTS

Data were available from 148 participants, mean age 66.2±6.5 years and 74.1% female, of whom 28 (18.9%) experienced OA worsening over a median follow-up period of 29 months. Univariate analyses revealed that age, sex, height, grip strength, and social network were associated with OA worsening. Social network remained statistically significantly associated with OA worsening after adjustment for age and sex difference (odds ratio=0.924; 95% confidence interval, 0.857-0.997). The relationship between social network and OA worsening were attenuated by both depression and handgrip strength at baseline.

CONCLUSION

Psychological status and muscle strength may be modifiable risk factors for social network which may in turn prevent knee OA worsening and should be targeted in future intervention studies.

Hashtags in Plastic Surgery: A Sentiment Analysis of over 1 Million Tweets

BACKGROUND

Current literature has sparse recommendations that guide social networking practices in plastic surgery. To address this, we used natural language processing and sentiment analysis to investigate the differences in plastic surgery-related terms and hashtags on Twitter.

METHODS

Over 1 million tweets containing keywords #plasticsurgery, #cosmeticsurgery, and their non-hashtagged versions plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery were collected from the Twitter Gardenhose feed spanning from 2012 to 2016. We extracted the average happiness/positivity (h-avg) using hedonometrics and created word-shift graphs to determine influential words.

RESULTS

The most popular keywords were plastic and cosmetic surgery, comprising more than 90% of the sample. The positivity scores for plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, #plasticsurgery, and #cosmeticsurgery were 5.72, 6.00, 6.17, and 6.18, respectively. Compared to plastic surgery, the term cosmetic surgery was more positive because it lacked antagonistic words, such as "fake," "ugly," "bad," "fails," and "wrong." For similar reasons, #plasticsurgery and #cosmeticsurgery were more positively associated than their non-hashtagged counterparts.

CONCLUSION

Plastic surgery-related hashtags are more positively associated than their non-hashtagged versions. The language associated with such hashtags suggests a different user profile than the public and, given their underutilization, remain viable channels for professionals to achieve their diverse social media goals.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

[Influencia de las redes de apoyo sociofamiliares en el cuidado de las personas mayores dependientes: un estudio cualitativo.]

OBJECTIVE

Socio-family support networks (SFSN) are necessary for the care of dependent people. This study aimed to explore the types of support provided in the SFSN for dependent older people in the Aljarafe Health District-Sevilla Norte (Spain) from a gender perspective.

METHODS

A qualitative biographical study was carried out, based on semi-structured interviews. The sample size met the theoretical saturation criterion. A total of twenty-four people participated in the study, fifteen women and nine men. For the qualitative analysis of the content and discourse of the people interviewed, Grounded Theory was followed.

RESULTS

Four categories emerged corresponding to the types of support provided: cognitive, material, instrumental and emotional support. These categories corresponded to the prototypes that caregivers and patients built through the ideas and concepts they had about caring for dependent people. The different types of support provided reduced the discomfort of all members of the SFSN. Differences were evident in the speeches between men and women.

CONCLUSIONS

Caring continues to be an activity that women usually do. The types of support analyzed show that the existence of a network is a guarantee of care and the use of SFSN reduces the overload of the caregiver by being compensated with the other members of the network. Therefore, networks are a health protection factor for family caregivers.

MOFGalaxyNet: a social network analysis for predicting guest accessibility in metal-organic frameworks utilizing graph convolutional networks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), are porous crystalline structures comprising of metal ions or clusters intricately linked with organic entities, displaying topological diversity and effortless chemical flexibility. These characteristics render them apt for multifarious applications such as adsorption, separation, sensing, and catalysis. Predominantly, the distinctive properties and prospective utility of MOFs are discerned post-manufacture or extrapolation from theoretically conceived models. For empirical researchers unfamiliar with hypothetical structure development, the meticulous crystal engineering of a high-performance MOF for a targeted application via a bottom-up approach resembles a gamble. For example, the precise pore limiting diameter (PLD), which determines the guest accessibility of any MOF cannot be easily inferred with mere knowledge of the metal ion and organic ligand. This limitation in bottom-up conceptual understanding of specific properties of the resultant MOF may contribute to the cautious industrial-scale adoption of MOFs.Consequently, in this study, we take a step towards circumventing this limitation by designing a new tool that predicts the guest accessibility-a MOF key performance indicator-of any given MOF from information on only the organic linkers and the metal ions. This new tool relies on clustering different MOFs in a galaxy-like social network, MOFGalaxyNet, combined with a Graphical Convolutional Network (GCN) to predict the guest accessibility of any new entry in the social network. The proposed network and GCN results provide a robust approach for screening MOFs for various host-guest interaction studies.

Use of Facebook in a quality improvement campaign to increase adherence to guidelines in intensive care: A qualitative study of nurses' and physicians' experiences

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to explore intensive care unit nurses' and physicians' experiences with professional content provided through closed Facebook groups, as part of a quality improvement campaign to improve guideline adherence.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study used an exploratory qualitative design. In June 2018, data were collected through focus groups of intensive care nurses and physicians who also were members of closed Facebook groups. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, and the study was reported according to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research.

SETTING

The study's setting was four intensive care units at Oslo University Hospital, Norway. Professional content on Facebook comprised audit and feedback on quality indicators on intensive care topics with related pictures, videos, and weblinks.

FINDINGS

Two focus groups of 12 participants were included in this study. Two main themes were identified: 'One size does not fit all ' described that quality improvement and implementation are influenced by several factors related to current recommendations and personal preferences. Various strategies are required to serve different purposes and meet individual needs. 'Matter out of place' described conflicting experiences of being offered or exposed to professional content on Facebook.

CONCLUSION

Although the audit and feedback on quality indicators presented on Facebook motivated improvements, professional content on Facebook was perceived as inappropriate. Hospital platforms with applicable features of social media, such as reach, availability, convenience, ease, and possibility for commenting, were suggested to secure professional communication about recommended practices in intensive care units.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

Social media platforms may be useful for professional communication among ICU personnel, but appropriate hospital applications with available and applicable social media features are recommended and needed. The use of several platforms may still be needed to reach all.

The smartphone as a "significant other": interpersonal dependency and attachment in maladaptive smartphone and social networks use

Smartphones are increasingly widespread throughout the world and, although smartphones provide various benefits, excessive and maladaptive use is often reported. Given the penetration of smartphones in the individual's daily life, it is relevant to identify the mechanisms sustaining their use, including the affective bond that the owner may develop with the device. The aim of the current study is to test a novel model to explain smartphone and Social Network Sites (SNS) use from an interpersonal perspective. We hypothesized that adult attachment style and interpersonal patterns (i.e., features of interpersonal dependency) generalize to the emotional bond with the mobile device, interacting with psychological correlates and background factors to predict smartphone and SNS consumption. 341 nonclinical adults (57.2% females; age M = 35.5, SD = 14.6) completed a battery consisting of the Attachment Style Questionnaire, the Relationship Profile Test, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Young Adult Attachment to Phone Scale, and the Social Network Intensity and Social Network Access via Mobile phone Applications. A multi-mediation model supported the hypothesis regarding the influence of interpersonal style in the relationship of the individual with their smartphone and use of SNS. A parallel between attachment style and the emotional bond with the smartphone emerged, with anxious attachment style and destructive overdependence being potential risk factors for maladaptive smartphone use especially in individuals involved in a romantic relationship. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications and intervention strategies towards smartphone dependency.

[Social networks use and risk factors for the development of eating disorders: A systematic review]

OBJECTIVE

Review the available scientific literature on the relationship between the use of social networks and risk factors for the development of eating disorders, such as low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction and/or idealization of thinness, in the Spanish population.

DESIGN

A systematic review of scientific literature published between 2010 and 2022 was carried out.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science.

SELECTION OF STUDIES

Only original articles were included, published in Spanish or English, that measured at least one variable of use of social networks and at least one risk factor for eating disorders in the Spanish population.

DATA EXTRACTION

The PRISMA 2009 statement was used as a guide. The quality of selected articles was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist.

RESULTS

Twelve cross-sectional studies that met the inclusion criteria were identified. Evidence suggests that the use and frequency of use of social networks is significantly associated with body dissatisfaction (p≤0,01), drive for thinness (p≤0,001), and low self-esteem (p≤0,05) in adolescents and young adults in the Spanish population.

CONCLUSIONS

Users of social networks, mainly those based on images, are exposed to factors that could increase their risk of developing an eating disorder.

Analysis of perceptions and emotional repercussions in Twitter users in Colombia during the COVID-19 pandemic

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted mental health. Up to a quarter of the population has reported mental health disorders. This has been studied mainly from a nosological perspective, according to diagnostic criteria. Nevertheless, we did not find studies that have explored the daily expressions of the population. Our objective was to evaluate the perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions on the emotional well-being of the Colombian population.

METHODS

We performed a Twitter metrics and trend analysis. Initially, in the trend analysis, we calculated the average duration in hours of the 20 most popular trending topics of the day in Colombia and we grouped them into trends related to COVID-19 and unrelated trends. Subsequently, we identified dates of events associated with the pandemic relevant to the country, and they were related to the behaviour of the trends studied. Additionally, we did an exploratory analysis of these, selected the tweets with the greatest reach and categorised them in an inductive way to analyse them qualitatively.

RESULTS

Issues not related to COVID-19 were more far-reaching than those related to coronavirus. However, a rise in these issues was seen on some dates consistent with important events in Colombia. We found expressions of approval and disapproval, solidarity and accusation. Inductively, we identified categories of informative tweets, humour, fear, stigma and discrimination, politics and entities, citizen complaints, and self-care and optimism.

CONCLUSIONS

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic generates different reactions in the population, which increasingly have more tools to express themselves and know the opinions of others. Social networks play a fundamental role in the communication of the population, so this content could serve as a public health surveillance tool and a useful and accessible means of communication in the management of health crises.

Development and validation of a questionnaire (GHOST) to assess sudden, unexplained communication exclusion or "ghosting"

The topic of "ghosting" as a method of terminating a relationship has been discussed in both popular media and academic circles. Although research on this issue is scarce, the concept has acquired popularity and gained scholarly attention. A reliable and valid measure of this phenomenon does not, however, exist. GHOST (The Ghosting Questionnaire) was designed and psychometrically tested to explore ghostee experiences. A total of 811 adults participated in an online survey to test this instrument. It was developed based on a thorough analysis of research on the topic of ghosting using a phenomenological qualitative method to identify ghosting domains and generate questionnaire items. In terms of content validity and construct validity, the final version of the measure was found to be satisfactory. GHOST was found to have adequate internal consistency - scores of 0.74, 0.74, and 0.80, indicating acceptable Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and ordinal's alpha coefficients, respectively. Factor analyses found the GHOST questionnaire to be a valid and reliable instrument that can be used for screening ghosting experiences and for designing community-based distress prevention and intervention programs. A dynamic fit index (DFI) cutoffs approach was also used and showed robust fitting.

Comprehensive mental health and psychosocial support for war survivors at Chenna Kebele, Dabat woreda, North Gondar, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Armed conflict and natural disasters cause serious psychosocial problems. Providing comprehensive bio-psychosocial support to the community after a war, traumatic, or devastating event has a significant impact on community reconstruction and resilience. As a result, the goal of this project was to conduct community diagnosis, identify individuals experiencing psychological distress, and provide comprehensive mental health and psychosocial support for the Chenna Kebele population in Dabat Woreda, North Gondar, Ethiopia.

METHODS

A mixed research approach, specifically an explanatory study design, was used to assess psychosocial issues among war survivors. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and observation were used to assess the psychosocial and economic consequences of the war on survivors. Additionally, a structured questionnaire was employed to assess mental health problems among the target population. The project was conducted in three phases.

RESULT

A total of 550 households were assessed using a structured questionnaire. Of them, 45 people reported a range of mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), adjustment disorder, protracted bereavement disorder, and insomnia. PTSD is the most common diagnosis, accounting for 38 cases. Four cases of major depressive disorder, three cases of prolonged grief, and two neurologic cases were also identified during the screening. Females had a higher number of PTSD cases as compared with males. Fifteen women reported sexual violence, and the number may be high because of underreporting and refusal to disclose the situation. The result also indicated significant property damage, loss of life stocks, and disengagement from basic services like water. Intervention with follow-up was provided at the individual, group, and community levels in order to reverse the devastating situation. The intervention included pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and social networking.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Overall, the community has experienced multiple psychosocial and economic problems. Hence, providing holistic mental health psychosocial support, clearing the site and burying the dead body, and re-initiating the terminated social gathering event will alleviate the existing problem and create a resilient community.

TikTok, TikTok, the time is now: Future directions in social media and body image

This article synthesizes practical strategies and future directions proposed by contributors to the special issue in Body Image on social media and body image. It also moves beyond the contributions of the special issue in an effort to provide additional guidance to researchers, clinicians, educators, and policymakers. First, we recommend that research on social media and body image extend beyond convenience sampling of young, White women and include children and older adults, boys and men, and underrepresented groups. Second, we urge researchers to move away from simplistic measures of social media and to utilize mixed-methods approaches. Third, we advocate for the development of new theories that can be tested longitudinally and that capture the unique influences of social media, rather than relying solely on existing models that were developed for traditional media. Fourth, we provide recommendations regarding practical strategies, such as the inclusion of media literacy campaigns, increased research on the role of reality check disclaimers, and further examination regarding the role of body positivity in prevention and intervention efforts. Finally, we end with recommendations regarding advocacy, such as using social media to harness positive efforts and partnering with social media companies regarding their use of algorithms.

Orthopaedic surgery and its allied associations on social media: an observational study

BACKGROUND

The use of social media in orthopaedic surgery and its allied associations has not been studied. There are various associations which are actively engaged in social media platforms to enhance their impact with their users across the globe. We evaluated the social media presence and extent of involvement of orthopaedics journals and their publishing companies, orthopaedics organizations, orthopaedics device firms, and health organizations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We compiled a global list of orthopaedics journals and publishing companies, orthopaedics organizations, orthopaedics device firms and health organizations affiliated to orthopaedics (USA) through the internet and their reliable online links. All the categories and their contents were screened on various social media networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) in terms of their membership, likes, followers and active participation. Comparable variables were selected and compared.

RESULTS

Orthopaedics journals corresponding to sports and health were more notable than others on social networking platforms, i.e., British Journal of Sports Medicine and American Journal of Sports Medicine. Medscape, Lancet, and Elsevier being the multispeciality health and information publishing companies have remarkable participation on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Medtronic has maximum followers on all discussed social networking sites. Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota and Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio were more admired than other orthopaedics hospitals on Facebook and Twitter in USA. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons was the most popular society on Facebook and LinkedIn while American Orthopaedics Society for Sports Medicine was most talked about on twitter.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the active involvement of orthopaedics journals and their publishers is lower than multispecialty publishing companies but increasing trends were found recently. Orthopaedics organisations and device firms were actively involved on social networking while orthopaedics multispeciality health organizations associated with renowned universities have huge likes or followers. The social networking has the potential to flourish these journals and organisations in the near future as large populations over the globe have been actively participating and growing in their numbers exponentially.

The Effect of Cognitive Impairment on the Association Between Social Network Properties and Mortality Among Older Korean Adults

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated the effect of cognitive impairment on the association between social network properties and mortality among older Korean adults.

METHODS

This study used data from the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. It obtained 814 older adults' complete network maps across an entire village in 2011-2012. Participants' deaths until December 31, 2020 were confirmed by cause-of-death statistics. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the risks of poor social network properties (low degree centrality, perceived loneliness, social non-participation, group-level segregation, and lack of support) on mortality according to cognitive impairment.

RESULTS

In total, 675 participants (5510.4 person-years) were analyzed, excluding those with missing data and those whose deaths could not be verified. Along with cognitive impairment, all social network properties except loneliness were independently associated with mortality. When stratified by cognitive function, some variables indicating poor social relations had higher risks among older adults with cognitive impairment, with adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of 2.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34 to 3.35) for social nonparticipation, 1.58 (95% CI, 0.94 to 2.65) for group-level segregation, and 3.44 (95% CI, 1.55 to 7.60) for lack of support. On the contrary, these effects were not observed among those with normal cognition, with adjusted HRs of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.31 to 1.71), 0.96 (95% CI, 0.42 to 2.21), and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.23 to 3.96), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The effect of social network properties was more critical among the elderly with cognitive impairment. Older adults with poor cognitive function are particularly encouraged to participate in social activities to reduce the risk of mortality.

Beyond Friendship: The Spectrum of Social Participation of Autistic Adults

Difficulties with social interactions and communication that characterize autism persist in adulthood. While social participation in adulthood is often marked by social isolation and limited close friendships, this qualitative study describes the range of social participation activities and community contacts, from acquaintances to close relationships, that contributed to connection from the perspective of 40 autistic adults. Qualitative data from interviews around social and community involvement were analyzed and revealed five main contexts where social participation occurred: vocational contexts, neighborhoods, common interest groups, support services and inclusive environments, and online networks and apps. Implications for practice to support a range of social participation include engaging in newer social networking avenues, as well as traditional paths through employment and support services.

World Health Organization is losing online credibility towards health-sensitive topics: Infodemiological analysis of Facebook users' reactions

Background: The scientific infodemic constitutes one of the greatest threats to public health and safety today. The credibility of the main dissemination agencies is an essential tool for adhering to measures to preserve public health. Methods: The study is a longitudinal retrospective conducted on a web platform to investigate netizens' infodemic attitude towards World Health Organization. Reactions such as "like," "love," "affection," "surprise," "sadness," "anger," and "derision" were collected under World Health Organization (WHO) Facebook posts on climate change (from 2019 to 2022) and vaccines (from 2021 to 2022). Descriptive statistics, linear regression, and correlation methods were implemented to identify possible trends and relationships with the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Results: These findings showed a worrying increase in derision reactions about climate change-related posts (up to 22% in November 2022, with a quadratically growing trend over time since December 2020). Furthermore, infodemic reactions such as anger and especially derision made up the majority of emotional reactions to vaccine-related posts since 2021 and up to 44% of total reactions in November 2022 (median since July 2021=9%, IQR: 4%-14%). Finally, there is evidence of a correlation between the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign and public distrust towards the WHO, even for issues unrelated to vaccines such as climate change. Conclusion: Based on what is known in the literature, these preliminary findings signal that the WHO is losing online public credibility towards extremely relevant issues for global health. Infodemiological interventions in accordance with the recent literature are urgently required.

Social media-based interventions for adolescent and young adult mental health: A scoping review

Background

Mental health conditions are common among adolescents and young adults, yet few receive adequate mental health treatment. Many young people seek support and information online through social media, and report preferences for digital interventions. Thus, digital interventions deployed through social media have promise to reach a population not yet engaged in treatment, and at risk of worsening symptoms.

Objective

In this scoping review, we aimed to identify and review empirical research on social media-based interventions aimed at improving adolescent and young adult mental health. A secondary objective was to identify the features and functionalities of platforms described as social media.

Methods

Adhering to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines for scoping reviews, the search was conducted in PubMed MEDLINE; Embase Central Register of Controlled Trials (Wiley); PsycINFO (Ebsco); Scopus; Web of Science; IEEE Xplore; ACM Digital Library; and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception until November 2021. Studies were included if they involved adolescents or young adults (10-26 years of age) that meet clinical, or subclinical, levels of a mental health condition and include a pre- and post-assessment of mental health outcomes.

Results

Among the 18,380 references identified, 15 met full inclusion criteria and were published between 2017 and 2021-this included four randomized controlled trials, seven non-randomized pre-post trials, and four were experimental or quasi-experimental designs. Just five studies were delivered through an existing social media site (Facebook or Pixtori), with the remainder focused on purpose-built networks. Three studies involved adolescents or young adults who self-reported a mental health condition, seven involved young people diagnosed with a mental health condition by a clinician or who scored above a clinical threshold on valid clinical measure, three involved college students without a mental health inclusion criterion, and two studies focused on young people with a cancer diagnosis.

Conclusions

The review highlights innovations in the delivery of mental health interventions, provides preliminary evidence of the ability of social media interventions to improve mental health outcomes, and underscores the need for, and merit of, future work in this area. We discuss opportunities and challenges for future research, including the potential to leveragei existing peer networks, the use of just-in-time interventions, and scaling interventions to meet need.

TikTok use and body dissatisfaction: Examining direct, indirect, and moderated relations

In this study, we examined potential direct, indirect, and moderated effects in the relations between the use of TikTok, a video-based appearance-related social networking site, and body dissatisfaction among a sample of 778 United States' young adult college women. Results showed that TikTok use was indirectly related to body dissatisfaction through more upward appearance comparison and more body surveillance acting in serial. Contrary to our hypotheses, we also found that exposure to body acceptance and critique of appearance expectations, a facet of exposure to body positive media, and commercial media literacy exacerbated the direct relation between TikTok use and upward appearance comparison and the indirect relations between TikTok use and body dissatisfaction through upward appearance comparison and upward appearance comparison and body surveillance in serial. That is, the relations were significant for those at high and average levels of both acceptance and critique exposure and commercial media literacy, but not for those with low levels. Finally, we found that TikTok use was only associated with upward appearance comparison at average and low levels of peer social media literacy but not high levels. Our findings suggest that regular and consistent use of TikTok may be harmful to women's body image, and women with higher levels of acceptance and critique exposure and commercial media literacy may be the most vulnerable to these negative effects.

Use of social network as a coping strategy for depression among young people during the COVID-19 lockdown: findings from the COMET collaborative study

BACKGROUND

Use of social media (SM) has exponentially grown particularly among youths in the past two years, due to COVID-19-related changing lifestyles. Based on the Italian COvid Mental hEalth Trial (COMET), we investigated the association between SM use and depressive symptoms among Italian young adults (aged 18-24).

METHODS

The COMET is a nationwide multi-center cross-sectional study that investigated socio-demographic data, social networking addiction (BSNAS), depression, anxiety, and stress (DASS-21), as well as impulsiveness (BIS-15) and aggressiveness (AQ) in a large sample of youngsters, in order to assess the association between BSNAS and DASS-21 indices. Mediation analyses were performed to evaluate the role of impulsiveness and aggressive personality traits in the association between SM use (SMU) and depression.

RESULTS

75.8% of the sample (n = 491) had a problematic SMU. SMU was reduced by high AQ and high DASS-21 scores (F = 42.338, p < 0.001, R² = 0.207). Mediation analyses showed that SMU negatively predicted depressive symptomatology with the interaction mediated by AQ total (ß = - 0.1075), physical (ß = - 0.207) and anger (ß = - 0.0582), BIS-15 total (ß = - 0.0272) and attentional (ß = - 0.0302). High depressive levels were predicted by high AQ scores, low SMU levels, low verbal and physical AQ, and low attentional BIS-15 (F = 30.322, p < 0.001, R² = 0.273). Depressive symptomatology negatively predicted SMU with their interaction mediated by AQ total (ß = - 0.1640), verbal (ß = 0.0436) and anger (ß = - 0.0807), BIS-15 total (ß = - 0.0448) and attentional (ß = - 0.0409).

CONCLUSIONS

SMU during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic could have a beneficial role in buffering negative consequences linked to social isolation due to quarantine measures, despite this association being mediated by specific personality traits.

A randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of social networking on chronic disease management in rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE

Social networking has been shown to improve health outcomes in certain patient populations. While patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) increasingly use social networking to communicate with peers, the effects of these interactions are largely unknown.

METHODS

In a randomized controlled trial, we compared RA patients who participated in a social networking group moderated by peer leaders and who had access to a static website offering RA materials with a control group, who only had access to the website. The primary outcomes were patients' RA knowledge, self-efficacy and empowerment. Secondary outcomes included participation in desired health behaviors, and satisfaction with peer support, among others. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 3 and 6 months. Participants who never signed in were excluded from the primary analysis.

RESULTS

105 participants were randomized to each group. Mean age was 52 (±12.4) and 92.4% were females. Knowledge scores improved in both groups, but only in the control group the differences observed at 3 and 6 months were significant (p≤0.02). Self-efficacy scores also improved in both groups, but only the differences observed at 6 months in the Facebook group were significant (p=0.02). When comparing groups, at 3 months the knowledge improvements observed in the control group were greater compared with those observed in the Facebook group (mean difference 0.4 versus 0.1; respectively, p=0.03). No other differences were observed in secondary outcomes between the 2 groups, except in peer support satisfaction. The Facebook® group reported greater peer support satisfaction in 3 out 5 subscales compared with the control group (p≤0.04).

CONCLUSION

Peer support satisfaction was higher in participants using an online social network, but this was not translated into greater disease knowledge or empowerment.

Machine learning models to detect anxiety and depression through social media: A scoping review

Despite improvement in detection rates, the prevalence of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression are on the rise especially since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Symptoms of mental health disorders have been noted and observed on social media forums such Facebook. We explored machine learning models used to detect anxiety and depression through social media. Six bibliographic databases were searched for conducting the review following PRISMA-ScR protocol. We included 54 of 2219 retrieved studies. Users suffering from anxiety or depression were identified in the reviewed studies by screening their online presence and their sharing of diagnosis by patterns in their language and online activity. Majority of the studies (70%, 38/54) were conducted at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2020). The studies made use of social media data from a variety of different platforms to develop predictive models for the detection of depression or anxiety. These included Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Sina Weibo, and a combination of different social sites posts. We report the most common Machine Learning models identified. Identification of those suffering from anxiety and depression disorders may be achieved using prediction models to detect user's language on social media and has the potential to complimenting traditional screening. Such analysis could also provide insights into the mental health of the public especially so when access to health professionals can be restricted due to lockdowns and temporary closure of services such as we saw during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scale development and validation for usage of social networking sites during COVID-19

This research aims to explore the usage of social networking sites in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the objective, this study develops and validates a scale to measure the usage of social networking sites. Data was collected via a google form link through social networking sites in India viz. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and WhatsApp. A total of 204 responses were found accurate and useable for the study. The population of the study includes people residing in India. Data was analyzed applying SPSS 20 and AMOS 22.0. To design and validate the scale, both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used in conjunction with each other. The EFA results indicate a six-factor structure, explaining 73.43% of the cumulative variance, with all the items loading above 0.70. Thus, all the 20 items of six constructs meet this threshold limit. Therefore, this 20-items questionnaire emerges as an effective tool for assessing social networking usage. This study developed and validated the scale of usage of social networking sites to measure the six constructs informativeness, education, entertainment, shopping, socialization and social cause. Social media developers and analysts can use this scale from a technological standpoint to redesign and refine their websites for a better user interface. Since the research is primarily focused on India, extrapolating the results to other countries is difficult.

Naturalistic social cognitive and emotional reactions to technology-mediated social exposures and cortisol in daily life

The emotional and social evaluative aspects of social interactions influence cortisol. The interactions that mothers have on social networking sites and via other technology involve heightened social comparison and emotion. We examined the associations between technology-mediated social engagement, social comparisons and emotion during technology-mediated social exposures (TMSEs), and cortisol during daily life. Forty-seven mothers (mean age = 34.38) completed a 4-day monitoring period involving four saliva collections and questionnaires daily at awakening, 4 h post-awakening, 9 h post-awakening, and bedtime. Higher social comparison during TMSE was associated with lower momentary cortisol, whereas higher negative emotions during TMSE and more time spent in TMSE were associated with higher momentary cortisol. Higher average social comparison during TMSE was associated with lower average daily cortisol output (area under the curve with respect to ground; AUCg), and more time spent on TMSE was associated with higher average AUCg. This study presents the first evidence that naturalistic social-cognitive and emotional reactions to TMSE are associated with cortisol in daily life.

Instagramming for Justice: The Potentials and Pitfalls of Culturally Relevant Professional Learning on Instagram

Social media offers potential for educator professional learning, but platforms' for-profit nature complicates this practice, especially for professional learning around justice-oriented pedagogies. This exploratory study investigated 551 publicly available Instagram posts shared by 11 purposefully sampled, justice-oriented education influencers over an 8-week period as the COVID-19 pandemic and renewed activism for racial justice unfolded in the United States. Qualitative analysis of post content indicated these influencers offered pandemic-related support, while also illustrating, enacting, and engaging culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies. However, promotional content was abundantly layered within posts and a cohesive message of how to enact culturally sustaining pedagogies was largely absent. Reflecting some of the paradoxes of learning via social media, our findings suggest there is some opportunity for justice-oriented professional learning from social media, however education influencers' content is limited by platforms' opaque algorithms and for-profit business models, which govern what influencers post and what followers see.

The Association Between Homophily on Illicit Drug Use and PrEP Conversations Among Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men Friends: A Dyadic Network and Spatially Explicit Study

Despite the wide availability of PrEP, Latino men who have sex with men (LMSM) continue to experience access barriers. Novel HIV prevention research strategies to increase PrEP uptake and adherence among the high incidence populations, such as LMSM who misuse drugs, include social network analyses. This study identified the associations of drug use homophily within LMSM friendship networks and PrEP promotion conversations and described the physical overlap between geographic drug risk areas with conversations of PrEP promotion. Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit 10 sociocentric networks. Quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) correlations and multiple regression QAPs were used to identify influences of drug use homophily, and geocoding and visualizations to describe drug use polygons and PrEP conversations. Friendship relationships in which both friends used cocaine or marijuana were more likely to report PrEP-related conversations in the past six months. The likelihood of talking about PrEP in the next six months was higher among dyads with cocaine use homophily and ecstasy use homophily, while lower among dyads with marijuana use homophily. Participants reported using marijuana and cocaine throughout Miami-Dade County while ecstasy polygons were mostly in urban areas. The majority of drug polygons associated with PrEP conversations were located in north and central Miami. Future interventions can consider enrolling entire sociocentric friendship groups, configuring friendship networks to connect those without PrEP information to those with information, and incorporating peer leaders.

What topics are women interested in during pregnancy: exploring the role of social media as informational and emotional support

BACKGROUND

Social media plays an important role as a source for obtaining or sharing health information. It is frequently used as a resource by pregnant women who seek information and emotional support regarding their physical and role changes. To provide high-quality support for pregnant women, it is important to determine what topics they want information on from social media during their pregnancy, and what effects they expect from each topic. This study investigates what topics pregnant women are interested in according to their stage of pregnancy and need for informational or emotional support from each topic of interest.

METHODS

An online survey was conducted with 302 pregnant Korean women. The survey questionnaires included information sources and experience of social media. Along with the questionnaires, they were asked to describe three to ten health topics that they were most interested in in the last two weeks.

RESULTS

Social media (72.85%) and search engines (72.85%) were found to be most frequently used for pregnancy-related health information. The topics of interest slightly differed by stage, but mainly postpartum care, pregnancy symptoms, and daily life issues ranked high. Mood related topics appeared frequently among women in their first trimester or post-partum stage of pregnancy. Informational support was mostly needed for daily life issues, and emotional support needs centered mostly around stories about family and mood during pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Pregnant women have different needs for informational or emotional support, depending on their stage of pregnancy and their topics of interest. Therefore, social media support should be delivered with varying content and platforms tailored to women's needs at each trimester.

Social Anxiety and Social Networking Service Addiction Proneness in University Students: The Mediating Effects of Experiential Avoidance and Interpersonal Problems

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the mediating effects of experiential avoidance and interpersonal problems on the relationship between social anxiety and social networking service (SNS) addiction proneness.

METHODS

An online survey was conducted on 400 university students in their 20s across Republic of Korea. The scales used in the study were the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), Korean Acceptance-Action Questionnaire-II (K-AAQ-II), Short form of the Korean Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex Scale (KIIP-SC), and SNS addiction proneness scale for university students. For data analysis, structural equation modeling was conducted, and phantom variables were used to verify the significance of individual indirect effects of the multiple mediation model.

RESULTS

Social anxiety had no direct effect on SNS addiction proneness. Experiential avoidance and interpersonal problems completely mediate the relationship between social anxiety and SNS addiction proneness sequentially.

CONCLUSION

Our result suggests that experiential avoidance leads to interpersonal problems and SNS addiction proneness. In other words, it is important to alleviate experiential avoidance in treating or preventing interpersonal problems and SNS addiction proneness among university students with social anxiety.

Purposes of internet use among Iranian university students: exploring its relationship with social networking site (SNS) addiction

BACKGROUND

Higher education students are heavy users of the internet for a wide variety of reasons, including Social Networking Sites (SNSs). This study investigated various purposes of internet use among undergraduate university students, and how different categories of such activities are related to SNS addiction.

METHODS

The sample set from 420 SNS users (280 females), a survey questionnaire was used to collect the information, including demographic information, purposes for internet usage (social, entertainment, academic, and economic purposes), and SNS addiction. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and a path diagram to estimate the regression coefficients were used to examine the data.

RESULTS

Findings revealed that the most common purposes for using the internet were online social networking and information seeking, followed by listening to music or watching movies, learning, relaxing, using email for educational needs, and reading socio-political news. In the comparison between categories of purposes for internet usage, the most prevalent group of purposes were academic and informative, recreational, social, and economic categories respectively. Moreover, the most significant influences belonged to the social group [positively], the academic and informative group (negatively), and the recreational group (positively) on SNS addiction respectively. The economic group of purposes did not have a significant influence on SNS addiction.

CONCLUSION

This study has important implications for education and health providers, particularly in universities; we recommend that they try to improve students' mental health and academic performance by providing opportunities for them to improve their IT literacy and skills.

Conceptualising, operationalising, and measuring trust in participatory health research networks: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

There are many described benefits of community-based participatory research (CBPR), such as increased relevance of research for those who must act on its findings. This has prompted researchers to better understand how CBPR functions to achieve these benefits through building sustainable research partnerships. Several studies have identified "trust" as a key mechanism to achieve sustainable partnerships, which themselves constitute social networks. Although existing literature discusses trust and CBPR, or trust and social networks, preliminary searches reveal that none link all three concepts of trust, CBPR, and social networks. Thus, we present our scoping review to systematically review and synthesize the literature exploring how trust is conceptualised, operationalised, and measured in CBPR and social networks.

METHODS

This review follows the guidance and framework of Peters et al. which is underpinned by the widely used framework of Levac and colleagues. Levac and colleagues provided enhancements to the methodological framework of Arksey and O'Malley. We explored several electronic databases including Scopus, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and PsychINFO. A search strategy was identified and agreed upon by the team in conjunction with a research librarian. Two independent reviewers screened articles by title and abstract, then by full-text based on pre-determined exclusion/inclusion criteria. A third reviewer arbitrated discrepancies regarding inclusions/exclusions. A thematic analysis was then conducted to identify relevant themes and sub-themes.

RESULTS

Based on the 26 extracted references, several key themes and sub-themes were identified which highlighted the complexity and multidimensionality of trust as a concept. Our analysis revealed an additional emergent category that highlighted another important dimension of trust-outcomes pertaining to trust. Further, variation within how the studies conceptualised, operationalised, and measured trust was illuminated. Finally, the multidimensionality of trust provided important insight into how trust operates as a context, mechanism, and outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings provide support for future research to incorporate trust as a lens to explore the social-relational aspects of partnerships and the scope to develop interventions to support trust in partnerships.

Comparing the effects of text messaging and mobile social networking on physical activity and anthropometric indices of middle-aged women: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Physical inactivity is a global health problem which is more prevalent among women. Among different age groups, middle-aged women are more vulnerable to physical inactivity as one of consequences of menopause. This study aimed to compare the effect of text messaging and that of mobile social networking on the improvement of physical activity and anthropometric indices of middle-aged women in Iran.

METHODS

This was a randomized controlled trial in which 110 overweight or obese women who were physically inactive were recruited and allocated into two groups of text messaging (n = 55) or mobile social networking (n = 55). Women in both groups received information regarding the necessity, benefits, and barriers of physical activity and how to overcome these barriers for 12 weeks. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and a demographic questionnaire were used to collect data. Anthropometric indices including weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist/hip ratio, and body fat percentage were measured at baseline, as well as 4, 8, and 12 weeks after intervention. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, Chi-square, and repeated measure test.

RESULTS

In the mobile social networking group, most women had moderate physical activity after 12 weeks (P < 0.05). The mean physical activity and energy expenditure were significantly higher in the mobile social group than those in the text messaging. In the 12th week of intervention, there was a significant reduction in the weight and BMI of the participants in the mobile social networking group compared to the text messaging group (P < 0.05). The waist and hip circumferences of women in the mobile social networking group reduced significantly after 12 weeks of intervention in comparison to the text messaging group (P = 0.001). The two groups did not show any significant difference regarding waist/hip ratio. While the body fat percentage was reduced in the mobile social networking group in the 4th, 8th, and 12th week of intervention, the differences between the two groups was not significant.

CONCLUSION

Both text messaging and mobile social networking were effective in promoting physical activity and reducing anthropometric indices except for waist/hip ratio and body fat percentages, but the effect of mobile social networking was more pronounced. Thus, mobile social networking is recommended for promoting physical activity among middle-aged women.

Teachers' virtual communities of practice: A strong response in times of crisis or just another Fad?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived effectiveness of a virtual community of practice (vCoP) designed to support knowledge and expertise sharing between K-12 teachers during Covid-19 pandemic. Besides, it aimed at exploring the potential of such vCoPs in delivering effective professional development, in general, and during crisis in particular. The vCoP was developed by the researcher herself as part of a consultancy to the UNESCO. The sample included 696 participants who were members of the vCoP. The research methodology adopted was mixed methods. Quantitative data was collected through surveying; and qualitative data was collected through 8 focus group interviews each involving 6 participants. Statistical analysis was used to analyze survey data, while interviews data was analyzed using theme-based analysis. Findings showed that participants viewed vCoPs as effective tools for e-professional development in general and during crisis in particular. Facilitators and blockers confronting vCoP nourishment are presented and discussed. Discussions and conclusions are offered at the end of the study.

European association for clinical pharmacology and therapeutics young clinical pharmacologists working group: a cornerstone for the brighter future of clinical pharmacology

The European Association for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (EACPT) is a leading society in Europe serving the European and global Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics community. Its specific aims include promotion of the utilisation and divulgation of the utility of clinical pharmacology services in health care delivery. EACPT currently has four active working groups (WGs): Education, Regulatory affairs, Clinical research and Young Clinical Pharmacologists (YCP WG). EACPT YCP WG was established in 2015 with the idea of improving education, research, training and networking/mobility opportunities for YCPs across Europe and globe. The main objective of the present manuscript is to provide detailed information on general characteristics, structure, chronogram, objectives, accomplishments and current/future focus areas of the EACPT YCP WG. Consequently, we tend to notably enhance EACPT YCP WG's visibility, increase the number of its members and mobility/networking options and to expand areas of activity even more. Moreover, by this we can also make clinical pharmacology more attractive to early career fellows and colleagues and empower its position alongside other medical specialties.

Media moments: how media events and business incentives drive twitter engagement within the small business community

Twitter is one of the most popular social networking platforms today with nearly 238 million active daily users. While the platform is used by a myriad of individuals for various purposes, businesses both large and small have begun to adopt Twitter into their business strategy to better connect with consumers. Considering the growing emphasis on social media engagement in the business sector, the present study examines some of the fastest-growing American small businesses from the perspective of media events theory. According to media events theory, certain large-scale events will attract excess viewership and attention from the public, both on traditional and digital platforms. We examine how small businesses leveraged media events of 2020, including COVID-19 and the 2020 US presidential election, so as to increase engagement and foster the growth of their businesses via Twitter. Using 35000 tweets based on media event-related hashtags collected throughout 2020, we investigated Twitter engagement among 100 of the fastest-growing small businesses in the USA. Through the use of network analysis metrics, we illustrate that businesses that tweeted about media events often received greater levels of user engagement and exerted greater influence over their respective networks.

COVID-19 symptomatology and compliance with community mitigation strategies in Latin America early during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

Community mitigation strategies (CMS) have demonstrated to be effective in the reduction of transmission and incidence of COVID-19, especially in the population with symptoms associated with the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the presence of COVID-19 symptoms and adherence to CMS in Latin American adults.

Methods

We carried out a secondary analysis of a database developed by the University of Maryland and Facebook social network during the COVID-19 pandemic. We included Latin American adults that used the Facebook platform and participated in a survey conducted from April 23 to May 23, 2020. The principal outcome variable was reported compliance with the three main CMS (physical distancing, use of face masks, and hand washing). The exposure variable included symptoms suspicious for COVID-19 defined as the presence of three or more symptoms of an acute clinical case of COVID-19. We performed generalized linear models of the Poisson family with a logarithmic link function to evaluate the association between the presence of COVID-19 symptoms and reported compliance with CMS. We calculated crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) with their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).

Results

We analyzed 1,310,690 adults from Latin America; 48.1% were male and 42.9% were under 35 years of age. The prevalence of suspicious symptoms of COVID-19 was 18.5% and reported compliance with the three CMS was 45.3%. The countries with the highest proportion of reported compliance with the three CMS were Peru, Bolivia and Panama, while those with the lowest reported compliance were Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras. In the adjusted model, people with suspicious symptoms for COVID-19 had a 14% lower compliance with the three CMS (aPR = 0.86; 95%CI: 0.85-0.87; p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Less than half of the participants complied with the CMS, and those presenting suspicious symptoms for COVID-19 had lower reported compliance with the three CMS.

Patients with rheumatic diseases are ready to use social media in clinical practice; what about rheumatologists? A cross-sectional survey

Social media can be an innovative communication method between patients and physicians that help to overcome time limitation in outpatient clinics. In this study, we investigated how patients with rheumatic diseases (RD) and physicians use and are willing to use social media platforms to communicate with each other. We used a face-to-face survey that provides information on current social media habits and communication methods of rheumatology patients and physicians. We studied 399 (135 M/262 F) patients with RD with a median age of 45 (IQR: 34) years. We also studied 55 (30 M/25F) rheumatologists with a median age of 37 (IQR:34–44) years. Among patients with RD, 288 (72%) used at least one social media site within the previous month. Facebook was the most preferred social media platform, whereas Twitter and Instagram were favored by males and higher educated patients. While 17% of the patients with RD could communicate with their physicians outside of the hospital, 94% expressed that they would like to. Most patients (74%) defined social media as a reliable source for health-related information, yet 90% declared that they would like to obtain information about their disease using face-to-face communication. Forty-two (83%) rheumatologists were using social media and reported that they already communicate or would like to communicate with their patients outside of the hospital. Internet-based mobile applications and social media platforms are promising communication and educational tools for rheumatology patients.

Contraceptive counseling about adverse reactions of intrauterine contraception: Exploration of narratives found in web-based discussion boards

OBJECTIVE

the possibility of experiencing adverse reactions is an important aspect of contraceptive decision-making and information about this topic is highlighted as an essential aspect of contraceptive counseling. The aim of this study was to explore experiences of contraceptive counseling about potential adverse reactions of intrauterine contraception.

DESIGN

exploratory qualitative study of messages in discussion boards, analyzed with inductive qualitative content analysis.

SETTING

two large public Swedish web-based discussion boards about sexual and reproductive health.

PARTICIPANTS

threads related to the aim were identified through searches in the discussion boards during 2019 and 2020, resulting in in 43 included posters who had written 140 messages in total.

FINDINGS

the themes 'difficulties making an informed decision due to insufficient and untrustworthy information about adverse reactions' and 'feeling dismissed when communicating about experienced adverse reactions' illustrate the results. Posters emphasized the importance of sufficient information about adverse reactions. However, professionals were perceived as overly optimistic regarding intrauterine contraception and focusing on mild or common reactions. The importance of feeling that their adverse reactions were acknowledged was articulated, but posters felt that some professionals dismissed the reactions when being told about it, resulting in frustration and dissatisfaction with care. The discussion boards contained narratives describing a resistance among professionals to send in a formal report about the adverse reaction.

KEY CONCLUSIONS

according to statements made by posters who have experience of adverse reactions of intrauterine contraception, contraceptive counseling have room for improvement in regard to inclusion of comprehensive information about adverse reactions. The findings illustrate the importance that clients who experience adverse reactions of intrauterine contraception feel they are acknowledged and offered adequate support.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

echoing guidelines for high-quality contraceptive counseling, the narratives provide further weight that professionals need to have adequate training and resources to offer comprehensive information about adverse reactions of intrauterine contraception. The findings call attention to the importance of follow-up services for clients who experience adverse reactions.

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Internet Addiction Test-Social Networking Sites Version: Dimensionality Assessment of Social Networking Site Addiction

BACKGROUND

By evaluating the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Internet Addiction Test-Social Networking Sites version (IAT-SNS) in a sample of Iranian university students, this study investigated the dimensionality of SNS addiction for the first time.

METHODS

A total of 620 SNS users (414 women) participated in the study. The study questionnaire comprised demographic information, SNS usage patterns, the IAT-SNS, and the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS).

FINDINGS

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) identified the 3-factor structure of the IAT-SNS, namely 'Lack of Control', 'Emotional and Relational Conflict', and 'Preference for online relationships' that explained 54% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) verified the current model. Problematic users on average exhibited higher scores on the whole IAT-SNS and each of the 3 factors as compared to non-problematic users. The IAT-SNS and its factors showed good internal consistency, and strong convergent and concurrent validity.

CONCLUSION

The Persian version of the IAT-SNS is valid and reliable, and is applicable for measuring the 3 dimensions of SNS addiction among students.

Adapting to Changes in Teen Pregnancy Prevention Research: Social Media as an Expedited Recruitment Strategy

PURPOSE

Teen pregnancy prevention projects funded by the U.S. Office of Adolescent Health were disrupted by the Trump administration in the July 2017 announcement that funding would be terminated. Although funding was later reinstated toward the end of 2018 after a class-action lawsuit, we needed to change our recruitment protocol to mitigate this disruption to the study timeline and staffing. This led to a natural experiment comparing in person and social media recruitment strategies.

METHODS

The original approach was to recruit girls, aged 15-19 years, who were using intrauterine or subdermal contraception, in person in clinic settings. After the funding disruption, we transitioned to an online recruitment strategy. Costs associated with each approach (in-person and online recruitment) were tracked, and we compared cost of per-person enrollment with each approach.

RESULTS

In-person, clinic-based recruitment enrolled 118 participants over 293 days from eight high-volume clinics. Online recruitment enrolled 518 participants over 146 days. Online recruitment resulted in cost savings and a diverse sample representing a larger geographic region.

CONCLUSION

Online recruitment can cut costs and be more efficient than a clinic-based recruitment strategy, but special considerations are warranted when considering social media recruitment.

Research trends related to childhood and adolescent cancer survivors in South Korea using word co-occurrence network analysis

PURPOSE

This study analyzed research trends related to childhood and adolescent cancer survivors (CACS) using word co-occurrence network analysis on studies registered in the Korean Citation Index (KCI).

METHODS

This word co-occurrence network analysis study explored major research trends by constructing a network based on relationships between keywords (semantic morphemes) in the abstracts of published articles. Research articles published in the KCI over the past 10 years were collected using the Biblio Data Collector tool included in the NetMiner Program (version 4), using "cancer survivors", "adolescent", and "child" as the main search terms. After pre-processing, analyses were conducted on centrality (degree and eigenvector), cohesion (community), and topic modeling.

RESULTS

For centrality, the top 10 keywords included "treatment", "factor", "intervention", "group", "radiotherapy", "health", "risk", "measurement", "outcome", and "quality of life". In terms of cohesion and topic analysis, three categories were identified as the major research trends: "treatment and complications", "adaptation and support needs", and "management and quality of life".

CONCLUSION

The keywords from the three main categories reflected interdisciplinary identification. Many studies on adaptation and support needs were identified in our analysis of nursing literature. Further research on managing and evaluating the quality of life among CACS must also be conducted.

Analysis of Perceptions and Emotional Repercussions in Twitter Users in Colombia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted mental health. Up to a quarter of the population has reported mental health disorders. This has been studied mainly from a nosological perspective, according to diagnostic criteria. Nevertheless, we did not find studies that have explored the daily expressions of the population. Our objective was to evaluate the perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions on the emotional well-being of the Colombian population.

METHODS

We performed a Twitter metrics and trend analysis. Initially, in the trend analysis, we calculated the average duration in hours of the 20 most popular trending topics of the day in Colombia and we grouped them into trends related to COVID-19 and unrelated trends. Subsequently, we identified dates of events associated with the pandemic relevant to the country, and they were related to the behaviour of the trends studied. Additionally, we did an exploratory analysis of these, selected the tweets with the greatest reach and categorised them in an inductive way to analyse them qualitatively.

RESULTS

Issues not related to COVID-19 were more far-reaching than those related to coronavirus. However, a rise in these issues was seen on some dates consistent with important events in Colombia. We found expressions of approval and disapproval, solidarity and accusation. Inductively, we identified categories of informative tweets, humour, fear, stigma and discrimination, politics and entities, citizen complaints, and self-care and optimism.

CONCLUSIONS

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic generates different reactions in the population, which increasingly have more tools to express themselves and know the opinions of others. Social networks play a fundamental role in the communication of the population, so this content could serve as a public health surveillance tool and a useful and accessible means of communication in the management of health crises.

[COVID-19 and vaccination: analysis of public institution's role in information spread through Twitter.]

OBJECTIVE

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a time where social media allows increased conversations about it. These conversations have spread various conspiracies about vaccines against COVID-19. It is, therefore, necessary to develop communication strategies, led by official accounts, that offer accessible information on vaccination as a preventive public health strategy. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of public institutions on Twitter campaign #yomevacuno to deal with misinformation about vaccination against COVID-19.

METHODS

This paper performs a social network analysis and content analysis of Twitter data, using NodeXL software, from December 8^th to 23^rd, 2020. Tweets included content #yomevacuno hashtag.

RESULTS

A total of 6,080 interactions were collected, 82% were tweets. Data shows that public institutions generate 53.36% of traffic information, the most important was the Ministerio de Sanidad from Spain. Content analysis revealed that 48% of a sample of 50 Tweets the message was focused on vaccination as a social responsibility to defeat COVID-19 pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

The communication strategy of #yomevacuno hashtag, has been led by the Ministerio de Sanidad of Spain, by comparison to other campaigns in which there was no large presence of public institutions. This case represents the importance of social media as a way to spread information and prevention, even in public health and the need for them to be led by public organizations rather than by individual users.

Prevalence of social media addiction across 32 nations: Meta-analysis with subgroup analysis of classification schemes and cultural values

In the cyber era, people interact with others not only face-to-face but also through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Social media addiction has emerged as a problem of global concern, with researchers all over the world conducting studies to evaluate how pervasive the problem is. However, the prevalence rates of social media addiction reported in the literature vary dramatically. The present meta-analysis aimed to systematically synthesize the extant research on social media addiction prevalence. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression were conducted to investigate whether the prevalence rates would differ by classification schemes, cultural values, and demographic factors. The meta-analysis involved 63 independent samples with 34,798 respondents from 32 nations spanning seven world regions. The random-effects meta-analytic findings revealed variations in prevalence among studies adopting distinct classification schemes. The pooled prevalence estimate was 5% (95% CI: 3%-7%) for studies adopting monothetic or strict monothetic classifications. A higher pooled prevalence estimate (13%; 95% CI: 8%-19%) was found for studies adopting a cutoff for severe level or strict polythetic classifications, and that estimate was even higher (25%; 95% CI: 21%-29%) for studies adopting a cutoff for moderate level or polythetic classifications. Moreover, cross-cultural comparisons revealed the pooled prevalence estimate obtained in collectivist nations (31%; 95% CI: 26%-36%) to be twofold higher than that obtained in individualist nations (14%; 95% CI: 9%-19%). This meta-analysis indicates that both the classification scheme used and cultural factors should be considered when interpreting the prevalence findings on social media addiction.

Health Pandemic and Social Media: A Content Analysis of COVID-Related Posts on a Telegram Channel With More Than One Million Subscribers

BACKGROUND

Mobile-based social media play an important role in the dissemination of information during public health emergencies.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to analyze the contents and trends of public messages posted on Telegram during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

METHODS

A content analysis of the 1781 messages, posted in a public Telegram channel with more than one million subscribers performed over 9-weeks. The messages were categorized into seven categories.

RESULTS

In total, 39% (n=703) of all messages were related to COVID-19. With the official confirmation of the case of COVID-19 in Iran, the number of COVID-related massages started to rise. Overall, the most frequent messages were of joke and humor (n=292, 41.5%), followed by educational messages (n=140, 19.9%).

CONCLUSION

Our study showed that the most popular messages during first weeks of COVID pandemic were satirical, indicating that people may not had taken the risks of this pandemic seriously. It is crucial for health organizations to develop strategies for dissemination of reliable health information through social media.