A systematic review of the use and effectiveness of social media in child health

Abstract

BackgroundSocial media use is highly prevalent among children, youth, and their caregivers, and its use in healthcare is being explored. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review to determine: 1) for what purposes social media is being used in child health and its effectiveness; and 2) the attributes of social media tools that may explain how they are or are not effective.MethodsWe searched Medline, CENTRAL, ERIC, PubMed, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, Alt Health Watch, Health Source, Communication and Mass Media Complete, Web of Knowledge, and Proquest Dissertation and Theses Database from 2000–2013. We included primary research that evaluated the use of a social media tool, and targeted children, youth, or their families or caregivers. Quality assessment was conducted on all included analytic studies using tools specific to different quantitative designs.ResultsWe identified 25 studies relevant to child health. The majority targeted adolescents (64%), evaluated social media for health promotion (52%), and used discussion forums (68%). Most often, social media was included as a component of a complex intervention (64%). Due to heterogeneity in conditions, tools, and outcomes, results were not pooled across studies. Attributes of social media perceived to be effective included its use as a distraction in younger children, and its ability to facilitate communication between peers among adolescents. While most authors presented positive conclusions about the social media tool being studied (80%), there is little high quality evidence of improved outcomes to support this claim.ConclusionsThis comprehensive review demonstrates that social media is being used for a variety of conditions and purposes in child health. The findings provide a foundation from which clinicians and researchers can build in the future by identifying tools that have been developed, describing how they have been used, and isolating components that have been effective.

Social Media Usage for Patients and Healthcare Consumers: A Literature Review

“…Not in line with previous published results [10], the Facebook search for common health conditions provided a large number of irrelevant pages, most pages containing marketing/promotion information, while relatively few pages were dedicated to social support [24].…”

“…Patients who are skeptical of its value might hesitate to engage in rehabilitation and health promotion programs that involve social media [9]. For example, a review on the use of social media in child health shows evidence of utility, but further research shows no significant effect [10].…”

Empowering aspects for healthy food and physical activity habits: adolescents’ experiences of a school-based intervention in a disadvantaged urban community

“…However, similar to our findings, Favotto et al (2017) noted that while adolescents might want to decrease the time spent with digital technology, they enjoy it for connecting with peers. This is an important area to explore further as reviews show that social media are increasingly used within complex health-promotion interventions targeting adolescents (Hamm et al, 2014). Using established social media platforms might be beneficial in removing physical access barriers of significance to health equity, particularly in at-risk, disadvantaged populations (Welch, Petkovic, Pardo, Rader, & Tugwell, 2016).…”

Evaluation of Internet addiction and the quality of life of Brazilian adolescents from public and private schools

“…Currently, cell phones, smartphones, tablets and other devices allow the Internet to be accessed at any time and from any location, thereby favoring an increase in network use frequency and the frantic advent of new social and technological media. The use of digital technologies has been completely absorbed into daily life and has promoted new forms of social interaction and organization, especially among adolescents (Hamm et al, 2014).…”