Abstract IA06: Social media and cancer control: Addressing health disparities through innovative communication science
Authors: Chou Wen-ying Sylvia 
Published: October 2015

Mobile and social media have become mainstays of life in the modern world. The growth and rapid adoption of these technologies, as well as the fact that these tools are relatively low in cost and widely accessible, suggests that they have the potential to help us address health disparities and reduce the burden that disproportionately falls on the members of the population who are least served by the healthcare system. Some cancer control and prevention efforts have already begun to tap into the social media environment in order to generate insight and improve population health. For example, observational studies have been conducted in order to increase our understanding of cancer-related attitudes and behaviors, including those of populations most acutely affected by cancer health disparities. At the same time, intervention research has largely focused on developing and testing cancer prevention initiatives that leverage mobile and social media platforms in order to motivate desired behaviors around topics such as tobacco cessation, sun safety, and screening practices. Some of these endeavors specifically aim to address cancer health disparities by engaging with populations that may otherwise be hard to reach for a variety of reasons, including restricted mobility and geographic isolation, limited health literacy, or mistrust in the health care system.

However, as non-traditional media and technologies are increasingly being deployed in cancer control and prevention efforts, there are growing concerns over the possibility that these initiatives might exacerbate existing disparities rather than eliminating them. Inequalities in access and technology adoption, lack of health literacy in a crowed online environment where health information is ubiquitous, and the inappropriate reliance on technology as a substitute for in-person communication in cancer care all have the potential to increase health disparities among individuals who are less educated or not as technologically-savvy.

The final presentation of this panel will focus on the role of social media and user-generated content in cancer prevention and control efforts, with special consideration given to populations most affected by cancer health disparities in the United States. In addition to reporting on studies examining social media conversations about cancer and obesity, the presentation will highlight a number of relevant empirical research studies in a variety of cancer control domains to describe the state of the science in cancer communication in the digital age. New data sources, analytic approaches, study designs, and measurement techniques will be highlighted through these examples. We will conclude with a specific set of promising future directions for the use of social media in reducing cancer health disparities.

Citation Format: Wen-ying Sylvia Chou. Social media and cancer control: Addressing health disparities through innovative communication science. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr IA06.