Researchers at University of Cincinnati Have Reported New Data on Managed Care (Concerns Regarding Health-related Social Media Usage Amongst Otolaryngology Patients): Managed Care

2023 DEC 08 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Data detailed on Managed Care have been presented. According to news reporting originating in Cincinnati, Ohio, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “The objective of this study was to determine concerns of otolaryngology patients regarding health-related social media usage.Methods A total of 372 otolaryngology patients were asked to report their level of concern (on a scale of ‘not at all’, ‘a little’, ‘somewhat’, or ‘highly’ concerned) regarding health-related social media usage as it pertained to risk of ‘loss of privacy or anonymity related to your health condition’, ‘reliability of disease/treatment information’, and ‘reliability of physician reviews/recommendations’. Demographics and social media usage patterns (on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok or other platforms) were compared to concerns about health-related social media usage.Results The level of concern was highest for reliability of disease/treatment information and least for loss of privacy/anonymity (p < 0.001).”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Cincinnati, “Concern about loss of privacy/anonymity was associated with age over 25 years (OR = 3.12, 95%CI 1.66-5.86, p< 0.001) and negatively with daily use of Twitter (OR = 0.54, 95%CI 0.30-0.96, p = 0.035). Concern about reliability of disease/treatment information was negatively associated with Medicare insurance (OR = 0.57, 95%CI 0.35-0.93, p = 0.024), which is available to adults aged >= 65 years, and concern over reliability of physician reviews/recommendations was associated with patients identifying their race as Asian, American Indian and other (OR = 3.16, 95%CI 1.22-8.19, p = 0.018).Conclusions The greatest concern about health-related social media usage is related to reliability of disease/treatment information, though notably less among patients with Medicare who represent adults of age 65 years or older. Concerns over loss of privacy/anonymity and reliability of physician reviews/recommendations are also prevalent and associated with patient demographics.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “These concerns may constrain utilization of social media for healthcare purposes, which highlights the importance of reliable sources of information.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Concerns Regarding Health-related Social Media Usage Amongst Otolaryngology Patients. European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, 2023. European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology can be contacted at: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States. (Springer - www.springer.com; European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - http://www.springerlink.com/content/0937-4477/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Ahmad R. Sedaghat, University of Cincinnati, Dept. of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States. Additional authors for this research include Sameer D. Kini, Firas A. Houssein, Sarah M. Adams, Armo Derbarsegian and Katie M. Phillips.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-023-08303-3. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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