Using Facebook To Provide Health Education About Diabetes
Introduction
There has been a surge in the number of patients who visit hospitals to access diabetic treatment. The increase in the number of diabetic patients necessitates hospitals and health professionals to seek alternative methods to treat patients in the era of digitization. Facebook has been adopted by many diabetic patients as a platform to access professional treatment. The use of Facebook corresponds to the recent increased use of smartphones in many areas of the world. The social media offers a platform where sick patients form a group, share their clinical experiences, and receive or give support to their peers. The use of the social platform to address diabetes issues is gaining momentum, with many users getting information about diet and physical exercises they should take to improve their recovery process. This paper seeks to analyze the effectiveness of using Facebook to provide health education about diabetes.
Effectiveness of Using Facebook
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder caused by excessive blood glucose levels, which prevents the body from efficiently utilizing energy from food eaten. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas produces little or no insulin or when insulin produced does not work effectively. Further classification can be made to type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Type one diabetes is common among young people and occurs when due to deficiency of insulin in the blood. Type 1 diabetes is often treated through insulin injections administered by qualified doctors. The other type of diabetes, type 2, occurs when cells develop resistance to insulin produced. Type 2 diabetes is treated using physical exercise and the use of the recommended diet. The disease is caused by various factors including, age, physical stress, malfunctioning pancreas, and hereditary conditions. Patients exhibit symptoms such as excessive thirst, frequent urination, weight loss, and extreme conditions it causes blindness. Patients derive significant benefits from using social media because they can share some of their current challenges and receive mentorship effectively.
Research on the use of Facebook
Research conducted by Goran Petrovski sought to find any differences between patients treated through social media and those who made regular clinic visits. A sample size of 56 children and adolescents was selected. Out of the 56, 29 underwent the routine clinical visits, while 27 received treatment online. Within twelve months, the research found no difference in acute complications witnessed by both groups, dose of insulin, and change in weight in patients. The study further realized that social media provided a tailored consultation compared to clinical visits, and there was an increased engagement between doctors and patients through Facebook (Petrovski et al., 2015). Social media also enabled patients to gain more knowledge on diabetes treatment faster and conveniently than clinical visits. In clinics, patients had to go to access any insulin adjustments physically, but via Facebook, insulin adjustments did not affect the day-to-day lives of patients.
Another study done by AlQarni et al. sought to retrieve information from Facebook groups regarding the content shared in diabetic groups. The study involved Arabic speaking countries where 55 groups were screen and seven selected for the study. The findings showed that the groups expressed similar themes across all posts. The most sought subject was raising awareness about diabetes. Posts encouraged patients to check their blood sugar levels regularly. Support for newly discovered and existing patients also dominated family and friends, giving encouragement and hope to the sick people. In the groups, 27.45 of the total posts involved experience sharing for diabetic individuals. People shared their journey on living with the disease, whereas others shared drugs and products that can be used to control diabetes. A high number of posts came from people aged between 40-60 years, with over 40% of the messages coming from relatives (AlQarni et al., 2020). The study further saw a high need for educational campaigns in the social platforms where medics participated in giving professional advice on the treatment and management of diabetes.
A study conducted by Zhang et al. further explains Facebook’s use as a platform for health and communication. The research analyzed 1352 messages sent to a diabetic group and the main themes that were discussed. Out of the group, 74% sought information about diabetes. Data sourced by participants involved symptoms of the disease, how to read and analyze blood sugar results, and the kind of diet they should keep. People also sought information on their emotional wellbeing. 72% of messages related to emotional wellness involves peer advice, where people encouraged others to take medication and live positively (Zhang et al., 2013). It was, however, worth noting that very few participants were seeking advice about those giving advice. The messages also featured community programs that would assist diabetic patients. The communal activities involved group meetings with diabetic peers within the same geographical locality. The study illustrates how Facebook has revolutionized the treatment of diabetes with patients sharing experiences and emotional support online.
Advantages of Using Facebook
The use of Facebook attracts various merits in the provision of diabetes information. Social media provides a perfect avenue where patients seek education. Many groups share knowledge regarding the treatment and management of the disease. Another merit of using Facebook is convenience. Conventionally, patients needed to go to hospitals to access healthcare. Currently, patients can interact with health professionals via Facebook and receive prescriptions. The use of social media empowers patients to live a positive life. Diabetes can result in stress, but via the platform, patients get encouragement from peers. Facebook use is cheap and user friendly. To access services on the social platform, one needs the internet and a smartphone. With the adoption of smartphones, it becomes easy to get information on diabetes on Facebook. Interactive groups are also user-friendly for new and existing peers. It is easy to post and read comments about a given topic.
Disadvantages
Social platforms attract a considerable number of demerits, including breach of patient privacy. Hospitals that use Facebook to give knowledge to patients might get hacked, and information gets into the hand of third parties. Additionally, patients get an overload of information on social sites. The knowledge might be contradicting, causing confusion among patients. The credibility of knowledge shared is also in question because many users are not qualified health practitioners.
Legal and Ethical Implications
The use of social media attracts various legal and ethical implications. The privacy of patient information is among the significant legal consequences of social platforms. There is no privacy regarding information shared on Facebook. Patients also lack control over who is viewing the messages they post online, and the information might go to untargeted users. Additionally, unauthorized activities occur in social platforms such as harassment of users. Patients encounter a rough time when they get bullied, harassed, or victimized in the social platform. Concerning knowledge shared by peers, there lack of proper regulatory compliance policies. Users can share misleading information, which leads to severe complications when adopted by peers. Lack of compliance gives room for any content to be shared without proper guidelines. Finally, data shared through the social platform might land to unauthorized hands. Data security is not assured in the platforms because they are prone to hackers who may get actionable information.
Conclusion
Facebook serves a crucial role in providing health education to diabetic patients. There is emotional support offered through peer to peer discussions on Facebook. Patients who feel overwhelmed by the side effects of diabetes find a helping hand on the social site. The use of social media has also encouraged information sharing among diabetic people. Information sharing dominates significant themes discussed in Facebook conversation AlQarni et al. Peers share experiences they have endured in the treatment of the disease, giving insights on better medication to use. Additional knowledge regarding the interpretation of blood sugar levels is shared to help those who may have difficulties analyzing their results. Research by Petrovski et al. indicates that patients who undertook treatment via Facebook recorded similar outcomes to those who made clinical visits. Patient recovery findings illustrate that Facebook can equally be used to treat the disease. Social media usage in sharing information has also experienced its share of challenges. Information shared does not undergo verification, and wrong knowledge might cause harmful results to sick patients. The ability of information shared to be legal and ethical needs to be addressed. Vulnerable patients may fall trap of bullies who use their medical condition to intimate them. The data shared in the platform is also not secure and may fall into the hands of evil people. Hospitals need to derive proper mechanisms to ensure patient information is highly secured.
References
AlQarni, Z., Yunus, F., & Househ, M. (2020). Health information sharing on Facebook: An exploratory study on diabetes mellitus. Retrieved 24 July 2020, from.
Petrovski, G., Zivkovic, M., & Stratrova, S. (2015). Social Media and Diabetes: Can Facebook and Skype Improve Glucose Control in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes on Pump Therapy? One-Year Experience. Diabetes Care. Retrieved 24 July 2020, from https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/38/4/e51.
zhang, y., he, d., & sang, y. (2013). Ischool.utexas.edu. Retrieved 24 July 2020, from https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~yanz/Zhang2013_FB_Diabetes.pdf.