Impact of Digital Info & Patient Support Networks 2017

Healthline recently release the 2017 Cancer State of Cancer Report: Impact of Digital Info & Patient Support Networks. The Report provided the results of a survey of cancer patients, survivors and caregivers regarding their use of online resources for information and support. They surveyed 1500 people over the age of 18 who were diagnosed with cancer or a caregiver of someone with cancer.

The key findings are listed below.

• 89 percent of cancer patients and caregivers go online for information related to cancer.
• 49 percent of millennials go online for information the same day they receive a cancer diagnosis.
• 73 percent of millennials join an online cancer community after diagnosis — three times more than baby boomers do (23 percent).
• Emotional support is the no. 1 benefit of joining an online or in-person cancer support group, but millennials also report they’re valuable for helping them make treatment decisions.
• Millennials place a higher degree of trust in online resources than older generations.
• Half of millennials also feel the information they encounter online causes more anxiety and fear.
• 78 percent agree that the internet empowers cancer patients and caregivers to make more informed decisions and cope with fear and anxiety (71 percent).
• Boomers value their clinical care team more than Generation X or millennials do, but millennials are the most likely generation to prefer to defer to their clinical team to make treatment decisions (48 percent). 62 percent of boomers and Gen Xers prefer shared decision-making.
• About half of cancer survivors or their caregivers stay engaged in online support groups to track long-term side effects (64 percent), because they fear recurrence (49 percent), and for emotional support (47 percent).
• There’s a stark difference in the behavior of survivors by generation, with 59 percent of millennials, 51 percent of Gen Xers, and 37 percent of boomers staying engaged in groups.

The Report is divided into 13 sections such as Cancer Support Groups, Health Privacy, Social Media, Trusting Internet Info, etc. You can read the sections you are interested in or the entire report, like I did, at https://www.healthline.com/health/state-of-cancer .

I found the report reflected the use of the internet by age group that I have observed from my time as co-founder/ co-moderator of the #gyncsm Twitter Community. My only comment would be regarding the report's use of the term community versus group. They separate online communities ( Inspire and Smart Patients) from Communities found on Twitter - which they call groups. Yes there is a difference in terms of privacy but I believe if you use the definition of community - "a body of persons of common ideas scattered through a larger society" then the groups on Twitter are in fact communities. 

Enjoy your read.

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!