TABLE 3—

Social Media Cancer Intervention Studies

Channel/Type of Cancer	Study	Participants	Social Media Platforms/Study Goals	Key Findings
Virtual world: breast	Andrade et al.66	Male, 62%; female, 38%; mean age, 29 y; White, 50%; Hispanic, 38%; Asian, 12%	Study feasibility of creating standardized patient avatars in Second Life to use in training physicians to deliver bad news.	Self-efficacy affective competence scores of trainees improved overall. All participants considered the experience positive and novel, although avatars were not able to portray body language cues.
Online forum
Gynecologic	Classen et al.18	Women; age range, 28–59 y; White, 74%; Asian, 11%; African American, 8%; Hispanic, 7%	Feasibility study to examine participation rates and preliminary outcomes for an online support group (GyneGals) designed specifically for women who are sexually distressed subsequent to gynecologic cancer treatment.	Participation was higher in wait-listed control group than in immediate treatment group. Exit interviews indicated that most participants were satisfied with intervention. Intent-to-treat analyses suggested a small effect for reduction in sexual distress.
General	Duffecy et al.19	Female, 87%; male, 13%; mean age, 50 y; White, 87%; African American, 10%; Asian, 1%; Hispanic, 10%	Examine feasibility and acceptability of individual Internet intervention for post-treatment cancer survivors embedded and integrated into an Internet support group (Onward) with ultimate goal of enhancing adherence and learning. Compare with individual Internet intervention alone.	Mean number of logins over 8 wk: Onward group, 20.8; individual intervention–only group, 12.5. Onward group had fewer dropouts than individual intervention–only group (3 vs 5). Among participants with depressive symptoms at baseline (n = 17 for both groups), hospital anxiety and depression decreased significantly.
Breast	Klemm29	Women; mean age, 52.3 y; White, 90%; African American, 10%	Evaluate effects of different formats of online group support (moderated vs peer led) on depressive symptoms and extent of participation among women with breast cancer.	Depressive symptoms did not differ significantly by group or over time or demonstrate a group-by-time interaction. Moderated groups read and posted significantly more messages than peer-led groups.
Prostate	Osei et al.36	Men; mean age, 67.2 y; White, 85%; African American, 7.5%; Hispanic, 5.0%	Explore effect of an online support group (Us TOO) intervention on self-reported QOL.	From baseline to 6 weeks, intervention group improved in 3 of 6 QOL measures (urinary, sexual, and hormonal health); 6 QOL measures declined in control group. Both groups returned to baseline levels at 8 wk.
Multiple channels (social networking and video sharing): general	McLaughlin et al.57,a	Male, 64.3%; female, 35.7%; Hispanic, 85.7%; Asian, 7.1%; Native American, 7.1%	Examine key factors that may influence a childhood cancer survivor’s participation in a social networking and video-sharing intervention (LIFEcommunity) tailored to their social support, social capital, and QOL needs.	Bridging social capital of participants was positively related to level of participation, sharing videos, more frequent visits to other participants’ walls, exchanging information and empathy support through sending and receiving private messages. Decreased levels of real-life support were linked to increased levels of online participation. Participants with more family support were less likely to participate in the social networking program. A higher depression level correlated with more activity in blog posting.
Social networking site: general	Valle et al.64,b,c	Female, 91%; Male, 9%; mean age, 32 y; White, 91%; African American, 9%;	Evaluate feasibility and efficacy of Facebook-based intervention to increase physical activity; compare with a Facebook-based self-help comparison condition.	Intervention participants lost weight and engaged in more weekly minutes of light physical activity than did control group. Groups did not significantly differ in weekly minutes of moderate vigorous physical activity.

Note. QOL = quality of life.

^aArticle references health literacy.

^bArticle references cancer health disparities.

^cArticle references Internet access digital divide.