2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

325361
Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator: Social Media and Online Support


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Linda Freeman, Ph.D., East Carolina University, Minnetonka, MN
Methods: Participants were recruited via social media messages that invited them to click on a link to an online survey. 76 individuals under age 50 with implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) completed a series of questions including the Florida Patient Acceptance Survey (FPAS) and the Florida Shock Anxiety Scale (FSAS).

Results: Means for FPAS and FSAS were compared to a typical clinical sample. Means were significantly different in the online sample compared to the typical clinic sample, revealing less patient acceptance of the device (t (70)= 2.62, p = .011) and more shock anxiety (t (72)= 7.89, p < .001). Men were significantly more anxious about shock than were women.

Conclusions: The ICD is necessary to control the effects of life-threatening arrhythmias via high-energy shock. For ICD patients under age 50, an ICD will be implanted within their bodies for many years to come, and these patients are at risk for significant psychological distress related to uncertainties and anxieties about their ICD. Communicating with others about their ICD through social media is used by ICD patients for acquiring and providing social support, beyond face-to-face support groups and meetings with health care providers. Delivery of high quality, appropriate, cost effective online support for young ICD patients is needed.

Learning Areas:

Communication and informatics

Learning Objectives:
Describe how patients under age 50 with an implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) that use social media to discuss their ICD differ from a typical clinic sample of ICD patients in terms of acceptance of the device. Describe how patients under age 50 with an implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) that use social media to discuss their ICD differ from a typical clinic sample of ICD patients in terms of device related shock anxiety.

Keyword(s): Social Media, Heart Disease

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal of a departmental grant focusing on the online communication and support seeking of patients with ICD. I study social media and online communication.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4283.0: Tune In, Turn On, Get Healthy? Media, Communication and Health (organized by HCWG)