Research and Scholarship
Using Social Media as a Platform for Increasing Knowledge of Lung Cancer Screening in High-Risk Patients
Aimee Strong,(1) DNP, RN, AGACNP-BC, and Michelle Renaud,(2) RN, PhD
From (1)University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia; (2)Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia
Authors’ disclosures of conflicts of interest are found at the end of this article.
Correspondence to: Aimee Strong, DNP, RN, AGACNP-BC, PO Box 800170, Charlottesville, VA 22908. E-mail: alc8p@virginia.edu
J Adv Pract Oncol 2020;11(5):453–459 |
https://doi.org/10.6004/jadpro.2020.11.5.2 |
© 2020 Harborside™
ABSTRACT
Background: Uptake in lung cancer screening for high-risk patients remains low. Eligible patients may not know that this preventive service is available and covered by insurance. Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore using social media to educate patients about lung cancer screening and assess motivation to discuss lung cancer screening with health-care providers after viewing the educational program. Methods: Subjects ages 55 to 77 who were current smokers or former smokers who quit in the past 15 years with a more than 30-pack-year smoking history were recruited via a Facebook advertisement. Subjects completed a demographic survey and the Lung Cancer Screening-12 (LCS-12) knowledge measure tool, watched a YouTube video about lung cancer screening, and completed the LCS-12 tool (post-test). Subjects rated their level of motivation to discuss lung cancer screening with their health-care provider. Results: This study used a pre-experimental, one-group pre-test and post-test design. Scores from the pre- and post-test were analyzed using the paired t-test. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze subject self-reporting of motivation to discuss screening with their provider. The mean knowledge score of participants (n = 31) significantly increased from 5.26 to 8.19 after viewing the video (t = –5.956, p < .001). The mean motivational level (1–5) was 3.52, with a mode of 5. Conclusions: A lack of knowledge regarding lung cancer screening may negatively impact the health of high-risk patients. This study suggests that social media can be used to increase knowledge of lung cancer screening. These findings demonstrate that the use of social media has a role in improving access to health information.
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