The Effectiveness of Social Media Support for Caregivers: A Systematic Review
Abstract
Background: Caring for patients living with long term conditions is a long-term task. The augmenting use of social media (SM) supports for health information and communication has created new opportunities for new models of health-care. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of SM support for caregivers. Methods: This systematic review mainly includes research over the past decade on caregivers for chronic diseases, with the results focusing on SM support for caregivers. Results: This literature review found that SM-based interventions can meet caregivers’ needs and have a positive impact on caregiver burden (CB) of chronic diseases such as cancer, dementia and stroke. Experimental studies of health interventions for stroke caregivers (SCs) through WeChat interventions have been limited. Conclusion: More quantitative studies are needed in the future to explore the effectiveness of WeChat as an intervention in the burden of SCs.
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