Social Media Use in COPD Patients in Germany and Switzerland

Abstract

Use of social media and the Internet has changed the information-seeking behaviour and exchange of experience and information by patients. Passive observation of such online interaction between patients (social media listening) is conducted in order to understand the burden of the disease, symptom perception, and expectations from a patient perspective. For most conditions, it remains to be established how representative the social media user community is for the overall patient population. In this study, we describe internet and social media use in a population of 570 COPD patients from Germany and Switzerland. This study population is a good representation of the overall patient population in Germany and Switzerland with regards to socioeconomic data. Patients were analyzed in an exploratory fashion whether usage of the Internet to obtain disease-specific information and exchanging on COPD via social media is associated with or is independent from certain socioeconomic criteria. About three-fourths of patients indicated using the Internet to search information about COPD and about a third of patients indicated using social media to exchange with others about their disease. Results indicated that among the patients using the Internet to seek information and among those sharing information via social media, patients with very severe COPD (GOLD stage 4) were overrepresented versus milder forms of the disease. Similarly, patients with more advanced educational background were also overrepresented in the groups using social media and Internet in relation to COPD. Differences in mean age were statistically significant, but surprisingly small between social media users and non-users. No relationship with regards to social media and Internet use for COPD were observed for domiciling situation and sex.

Variations in Pattern of Social Media Engagement between Individuals with Chronic Conditions and Mental Health Conditions

“…Health information exchange has become the hallmark of modern healthcare systems, and social media is a critical vehicle for such an exchange [27,28]. The exchange of health information for patient self-management is increasingly recognized for its role in improving health outcomes [21,29].…”

COPD: Providing the right treatment for the right patient at the right time

“…In chronic respiratory disease, upwards of 80% of papers examining the impact of technology enable patient education have been published since [186]. The early papers focused on website delivery of information, but more recently social media, smart phone applications, virtual reality/gaming, and 1:1 or group telehealth have been used to engage patients in education on their respiratory condition [187][188][189][190][191]. Technology enabled patient education has comparable improvements to more traditional education models for knowledge acquisition and health outcomes, with improvements observed in quality of life, physical activity and self-care [186].…”