Peer‐to‐peer connections: Perceptions of a social support app designed for young adults with cancer

Abstract

Objective: Social support is a critical, yet frequently unmet, need among young adults (YAs) with cancer. YAs desire age-appropriate resources to connect with peers.Peer-to-peer mobile apps are promising interventions to provide social support. Peerto-peer apps will be more effective if development incorporates users' input for whether app designs (look and function) afford meaningful connections. Methods:We interviewed 22 YAs to assess perceptions of a peer-to-peer app at a YA cancer convention in April 2017.Results: Participants were an average age of 29, mostly female (77%), white (73%), and well educated (68% with 4-year college degree or higher). Most participants expressed interested in using an app to connect with YAs, but preferences varied by prevalence or rarity of one's cancer diagnosis. YAs shared trade-offs for profile anonymity versus profiles with more personal information, requests for filter options to connect for varying support needs, and desires for tailored messaging and chat room features (eg, topic-specific and search capabilities). Conclusion:Findings demonstrate the promise of apps to fulfill YA cancer survivors' unmet peer support needs and provide guidance for app optimization. Clinical implications:Peer-to-peer support apps should be designed so users can control their identity and customize features for meaningful connections. KEYWORDS cancer, eHealth, interactive design, mobile app intervention, oncology, social networking, social support, user experience, user interface

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile Phone App Intervention for Coping With Cancer as a Young Adult: Pilot Trial and Thematic Analysis

“…One potential solution would be to open up the app to a larger population, including other cancer centers in the Northeast region of the United States, or even nationwide. This would also increase the opportunities for patients to connect with a peer who has been diagnosed with a similar diagnosis, a desire that came up several times during the exit interviews and has been reported previously [16]. This need is understandable and also challenging given the rarity of many cancer diagnoses among young adults.…”

“…In addition, the majority of young adults are comfortable using social media platforms, and over half of all 18-29-year-olds who are on the web access these types of sites daily [14]. Specifically, within the cancer sphere, young adults have expressed interest in smartphone apps and social media interventions aimed at providing mental health care and peer support [15,16]. Other investigators have also recognized the potential of delivering cancer-related care via smartphone app.…”

Using Social Media for Peer-to-Peer Cancer Support: Interviews With Young Adults With Cancer

“…This study was part of a larger data collection to better understand web-based social support. For this study, participants were first asked about social media they were currently using or had previously used for support, how these apps or platforms were helpful for making connections and support, what issues or topics they connected with others about, and any downsides of web-based social support, with questions adapted from our cancer support app research [29]. Then, all interviewees were asked about initiation or any changes to how they used web-based support and who they connected with, which is reported elsewhere [37].…”

“…Social media also appears to increase social connectedness among young adults with cancer [24,25]. Peer-to-peer sharing on social media may meet unique, age-specific needs [26][27][28][29]; however, many still recognize the need to better understand how young adults with cancer use social media for social support [30,31]. Social media engagement can involve complex relational processes where young adults with cancer benefit most from reciprocal and responsive disclosures [32]; however, few have addressed upstream experiences that facilitate (or hinder) cancer-related conversations on social media.…”

Psychological symptoms and patterns of mobile application use for young adult cancer survivors

“…Recent research indicates that mobile health applications are feasible and acceptable to YAs 4 . Such findings justify the targeting of mobile health applications to the YA survivor age group, but it remains unknown how to tailor such applications to best meet the survivors' individual needs 5,6 . The present study therefore assesses whether use of specific features on a mobile health application relates to how emotionally supported YAs feel, and whether they have symptoms of anxiety or depression.…”