Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Nov 2013
The good, bad, and ugly of online recruitment of parents for health-related focus groups: lessons learned.
We describe our experiences with identifying and recruiting Ontario parents through the Internet, primarily, as well as other modes, for participation in focus groups about adding the influenza vaccine to school-based immunization programs. ⋯ Using multiple online advertising strategies was effective for recruiting a large sample of participants in a relatively short period time with minimal resources. However, risks such as multiple submissions and potentially fraudulent information need to be considered. In our study, these problems were associated with providing an incentive for responding, and could have been partially avoided by activating restrictive software features for online questionnaires.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Nov 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialDiabetes self-management smartphone application for adults with type 1 diabetes: randomized controlled trial.
Persistently poor glycemic control in adult type 1 diabetes patients is a common, complex, and serious problem initiating significant damage to the cardiovascular, renal, neural, and visual systems. Currently, there is a plethora of low-cost and free diabetes self-management smartphone applications available in online stores. ⋯ In adjunct to usual care, the use of a diabetes-related smartphone application combined with weekly text-message support from a health care professional can significantly improve glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Nov 2013
Analysis of the purpose of state health departments' tweets: information sharing, engagement, and action.
Public health agencies are actively using social media, including Twitter. In the public health and nonprofit sectors, Twitter has been limited to one-way communication. Two-way, interactive communication on Twitter has the potential to enhance organizational relationships with followers and help organizations achieve their goals by increasing communication and dialog between the organization and its followers. Research shows that nonprofit organizations use Twitter for three main functions: information sharing, community building, and action. ⋯ This is the first study to assess the purpose of public health tweets among state health departments. State health departments are using Twitter as a one-way communication tool, with tweets focused primarily on personal health. A state health department Twitter account may not be the primary health information source for individuals. Therefore, state health departments should reconsider their focus on personal health tweets and envision how they can use Twitter to develop relationships with community agencies and partners. In order to realize the potential of Twitter to establish relationships and develop connections, more two-way communication and interaction are essential.