Table 10. Characteristics of 9 non-infectious diseases studies addressing research question 2 a .
| Author (et al.) | Social Media Type | Location | Sample Population | Study Type | Population/ Disease Studied | Time Period | Intervention/Exploratory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baptist [ 50 ] | Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. | North America | Asthma patients, ages 12–40 years | Cross-sectional | Asthma | 2010 | Exploratory |
| Egan [ 51 ] | North America | 300 U.S. university students, ages 18–19 years | Prospective cohort | Stress-related conditions | 2009–2010 | Not specified | |
| Iafusco [ 1 ] | Chatline | Europe (Italy) | Young people with type 1 diabetes | Not specified | Diabetes care | 2000 | Intervention |
| Lieberman [ 55 ] | Discussion forums | North America | 32 women with breast carcinoma | Clinical trial | Benefits of discussion forum for breast cancer | Not specified | Intervention |
| O’Dea [ 67 ] | MySpace, Facebook, others | Australia | Convenience sample of rural Australian high school students | Mixed methods | Social media for mental health | Not specified | Exploratory |
| Song [ 59 ] | Other (social networking site) | North America (Los Angeles, CA) | 14 childhood cancer survivors (ages 18–25 years) | Content analysis (video clips) | Quality of life issues for childhood cancer survivors | Not specified | Exploratory |
| Takahashi [ 70 ] | Japanese social network | Asia | 105 participants | Observational cross-section study | Depression-oriented social networking site | 2007 | Exploratory |
| Tsaousides [ 63 ] | North America | 96 individuals (60% female, ages 23–70 years) with traumatic brain injuries | Qualitative (online survey) | Use among individuals with traumatic brain injuries | Not specified | Exploratory | |
| Turner-McGrievy [ 64 ] | Mobile Pounds Off Digitally (POD) | North America (USA) | Men and women users of POD | Randomized | Overweight and obese adults | July 2010 –Feb 2011 | Intervention |
aQ2: Can social media be used to effectively target populations, specifically vulnerable populations, to test an intervention and interact with a community to improve health outcomes?