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Validity of social media for assessing treatment patterns in oncology patients: a case study in melanoma.

ABSTRACT: There is a need to understand how patients are managed in the real world to better understand disease burden and unmet need. Traditional approaches to gather these data include the use of electronic medical record (EMR) or claims databases; however, in many cases data access policies prevent rapid insight gathering. Social media may provide a potential source of real-world data to assess treatment patterns, but the limitations and biases of doing so have not yet been evaluated. Here, we assessed whether patient treatment patterns extracted from publicly available patient forums compare to results from more traditional EMR and claims databases. We observed that the 95% confidence intervals of proportions of treatments received at first, second, and third line for advanced/metastatic melanoma generated from unstructured social media data overlapped with 95% confidence intervals from proportions obtained from 1 or more traditional EMR/Claims databases. Social media may offer a valid data option to understand treatment patterns in the real world.

SUBMITTER: McDonald L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6994021 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Validity of social media for assessing treatment patterns in oncology patients: a case study in melanoma.

McDonald Laura L Behl Varun V Sundar Vijayarakhavan V Mehmud Faisal F Malcolm Bill B Ramagopalan Sreeram S

JAMIA open 20190903 4

There is a need to understand how patients are managed in the real world to better understand disease burden and unmet need. Traditional approaches to gather these data include the use of electronic medical record (EMR) or claims databases; however, in many cases data access policies prevent rapid insight gathering. Social media may provide a potential source of real-world data to assess treatment patterns, but the limitations and biases of doing so have not yet been evaluated. Here, we assessed ...[more]

PMID: 32025637

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Project description:Purpose Resident physicians use social media (SM) for many reasons. We sought to characterize current SM use by radiation oncology (RO) trainees for education and professional development. Methods and Materials An anonymous 40-question survey was sent by e-mail to RO residents in the 2018 to 2019 academic year. SM platform use, time spent on SM, professional use, and opinions regarding SM use were assessed. Descriptive statistics and a univariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify factors associated with perceptions of SM and spending >25% of SM time for academic or professional purposes. Results Of the 615 residents surveyed, 149 responded (24% response rate). Facebook (73%), theMednet (62%), Instagram (59%), Twitter (57%), and Doximity (50%) were the top SM platforms used. Most respondents (53%) reported <25% of overall SM time on professional/academic purposes, and 21% reported using SM >60 minutes per day over the past week. Residents with an RO mentor on SM (n = 35; 24%; odds ratio [OR]: 2.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29-6.08; P = .010), those participating in RO discussions on SM (n = 71; 48%; OR: 2.85; 95% CI, 1.42-5.72; P = .003), and those interacting with professional societies (n = 69; 46%; OR: 7.11; 95% CI, 3.32-15.24; P < .001) were more likely to spend >25% of their SM time on professional/academic purposes. The vast majority of respondents agreed that SM exposed them to novel educational content (82%) and was helpful for career development (65%). In addition, 69% agreed that SM can improve clinical skills and knowledge. A substantial minority agreed that SM distracts them from studying (38%) or they felt pressure to have a SM presence (29%). Conclusions Most RO residents reported that SM provides novel educational content and can help with career development. Potential disadvantages of SM for trainees may include distraction and pressure to maintain a SM presence. SM use by RO trainees merits further research to optimize its potential for education and professional development.

Project description:PurposeDevelopment of innovative drugs for melanoma is occurring rapidly. Incremental gains in overall survival amongst innovative products may be difficult to measure in clinical trials, and their use may be associated with increased toxicity profiles. Therefore, HTA agencies increasingly require information on HRQoL for the assessment of such drugs. This study explored the feasibility of social media to assess patient perspectives on HRQoL in melanoma, and whether current cancer- and melanoma-specific HRQoL questionnaires represent these perspectives.MethodsA survey was distributed on the social media channels of Melanoma Patient Network Europe to assess melanoma patients' perspectives regarding HRQoL. Two researchers independently conducted content analysis to identify key themes, which were subsequently compared to questions from one current cancer-specific and two melanoma-specific HRQoL questionnaires (i.e. EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-MEL38, FACT-M).ResultsIn total, 72 patients and 17 carers completed the survey. Patients indicated that family, having a normal life, and enjoying life were the three most important aspects of HRQoL for them. Carers indicated that being capable, having manageable adverse events, and being pain-free were the three most important aspects of HRQoL for patients. Respondents seem to find some questions from HRQoL questionnaires relevant (e.g. 'Have you felt able to carry on with things as normal?') and others less relevant (e.g. 'Have you had swelling near your melanoma site?'). Additionally, wording may differ between patients and HRQoL questionnaires, whereby patients generally use a more positive tone.ConclusionsSocial media may provide a valuable tool in assessing patient perspectives regarding HRQoL. However, differences seem to emerge between patient and carer perspectives. Additionally, patient perspectives did not seem to fully correlate to questions posed in cancer- (i.e. EORTC QLQ-C30) and melanoma-specific (i.e. EORTC QLQ-MEL38, FACT-M) HRQoL questionnaires examined.

Project description:BackgroundAthletes may be at risk for developing adverse health outcomes due to poor eating behaviors during college. Due to the complex nature of the diet, it is difficult to include or exclude individual food items and specific food groups from the diet. Eating behaviors may better characterize the complex interactions between individual food items and specific food groups. The purpose was to examine the Rapid Eating Assessment for Patients survey (REAP) as a valid tool for analyzing eating behaviors of NCAA Division-I male and female athletes using pattern identification. Also, to investigate the relationships between derived eating behavior patterns and body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) while stratifying by sex and aesthetic nature of the sport.MethodsTwo independent samples of male (n = 86; n = 139) and female (n = 64; n = 102) collegiate athletes completed the REAP in June-August 2011 (n = 150) and June-August 2012 (n = 241). Principal component analysis (PCA) determined possible factors using wave-1 athletes. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) determined factors accounting for error and confirmed model fit in wave-2 athletes. Wave-2 athletes' BMI and WC were recorded during a physical exam and sport participation determined classification in aesthetic and non-aesthetic sport. Mean differences in eating behavior pattern score were explored. Regression models examined interactions between pattern scores, participation in aesthetic or non-aesthetic sport, and BMI and waist circumference controlling for age and race.ResultsA 5-factor PCA solution accounting for 60.3% of sample variance determined fourteen questions for EFA and CFA. A confirmed solution revealed patterns of Desserts, Healthy food, Meats, High-fat food, and Dairy. Pattern score (mean ± SE) differences were found, as non-aesthetic sport males had a higher (better) Dessert score than aesthetic sport males (2.16 ± 0.07 vs. 1.93 ± 0.11). Female aesthetic athletes had a higher score compared to non-aesthetic female athletes for the Dessert (2.11 ± 0.11 vs. 1.88 ± 0.08), Meat (1.95 ± 0.10 vs. 1.72 ± 0.07), High-fat food (1.70 ± 0.08 vs. 1.46 ± 0.06), and Dairy (1.70 ± 0.11 vs. 1.43 ± 0.07) patterns.ConclusionsREAP is a construct valid tool to assess dietary patterns in college athletes. In light of varying dietary patterns, college athletes should be evaluated for healthful and unhealthful eating behaviors.

Dataset Information

Validity of social media for assessing treatment patterns in oncology patients: a case study in melanoma.

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Validity of social media for assessing treatment patterns in oncology patients: a case study in melanoma.

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