Stories of Young Breast Cancer Survivors: Support and Education Through Social Media
Authors:
Silvia Gisger-Camata, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Timiya Nolan, The Ohio State University
Jacqueline Vo (Presenter)
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Karen Meneses, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Public Health Statement: Approximately 11% of women are diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age (before 45 years). Young breast cancer survivors (YBCS) have unique survivorship concerns including managing work, children and family relationships, and sexuality. Nearly 80% of young adults use social media. SurviveAL is the Gulf States Young Breast Cancer Survivorship Network division in Alabama. SurviveAL establishes web- and social media-based education/support resources for YBCS, including Survivorship Video Series disseminated via Facebook and YouTube.
Purpose: To describe dissemination of age-specific education/support to YBCS via survivorship videos using social media platforms.
Methods/Approach: SurviveAL collaborated with University of Alabama at Birmingham Digital Media to develop and assess videos in five steps—
- Evaluated YBCS’ preferred format, content, and length of videos to design a template.
- Conducted video-recorded individual interviews of YBCS.
- Thematically grouped data into coherent vignettes on survivorship topic.
- Iteratively produced videos based on the template.
- Evaluated video views and likes on Facebook and YouTube.
Results: Ten YBCS reported preferring engaging, short videos about their survivorship. Seven multiracial YBCS described their stories informing seven videos: two survivor features (A Survivorship Story) and five age-specific topics (Dealing with Cognitive Changes, Dealing with Negative Emotions, Support and Survivorship, and Your Body Image). Between April 2016 and March 2017, videos were accessed via Facebook (3,307 views; 53 shares; 37 likes) and YouTube (1,085 views; 19 likes).
Conclusions/Implications: The videos provided age-specific aspects of survivorship and needed education/support tailored to YBCS’ preferences. Future directions include production of additional videos and implementing strategies to increase dissemination.
- Page last reviewed: August 25, 2017
- Page last updated: August 25, 2017
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