More than 75,000 health care professionals worldwide share information and discuss treatments on Twitter, making it one of the most popular and influential social media sites for health. This engaging medium has enormous potential for establishing relationships and disseminating information among physicians, their colleagues, and patients. However, little is known about how physicians navigate Twitter and what challenges and benefits come from using the platform. By conducting in-depth interviews with 17 physicians who interact with Twitter at least once per week, it was revealed that physicians overcome concerns of privacy and time constraints to learn and share new research, connect with colleagues, manage online personas, and develop relationships with patients on a new level that goes beyond the typical office visit. Implications include the possibility of enriched patient-provider relationships due to physicians divulging opinions and personal information in a public forum to minimize established power structures and enable better communication. This exploratory study establishes that Twitter is fertile ground for future research to explore how the medium can influence patient behavior, alter attitudes, and influence communication between patients and providers.
With nearly 30% of the adult U.S. population acting as caregivers for sick, disabled, or elderly family members, it is imperative that caregivers become better equipped to cope with this challenging role. Although caregiving is regarded as an arduous endeavor, caring for an older family member may actually produce positive experiences. This study examines how caregivers use communication as a tool to cope with caring for an older family member. Over a span of 15 months, more than 150 caregiver stories were gathered from AgingCare.com, analyzed thematically, and categorized. The results show that stories utilize emotion-based techniques, including humor (20%), positive framing (16%), and acceptance (11%), to reveal that lasting, meaningful bonds can develop between caregivers and caregivers' relatives. These techniques allow caregivers to redefine their familial role and to find comfort in disheartening situations. Thus, coping is a truly communicative event since emotions can facilitate behaviors directed at ailing family members.
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