As the prevalence of social media continues to rise, new research reveals it can be used to help caregivers communicate with their friends, families and communities.
The study, published in Cancer Nursing, analyzed how caregivers for cancer patients can use Facebook to communicate.
Researchers from Buffalo, N.Y.-based Roswell Park Cancer Institute looked at the Facebook pages of 18 parents of kids with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. They tracked the parents' Facebook posts for one year, accounting for a total of 15,852 posts.
They found six prominent themes emerged within the posts: documenting the cancer journey; sharing the emotional strain linked with caregiving; promoting pediatric cancer awareness and advocacy; fundraising; mobilizing support; and conveying thanks for support.
The researchers concluded that because cancer caregivers utilize social media so often, providers should promote the use of Facebook among pediatric cancer patients' parents and educate them on how to obtain supportive information via Facebook.