జీర్ణకోశ & జీర్ణ వ్యవస్థ

నైరూప్య

Rationale for Using Social Media to Collect Patient-Reported Outcomes in Patients with Celiac Disease

Park KT1, Merissa Harris, Nasim Khavari and Chaitan Khosla

Patients with celiac disease (CD) are increasingly interconnected through social media, exchanging patient experiences and health-tracking information between individuals through various web-based platforms. Social media represents potentially unique communication interface between gastroenterologists and active social media users – especially young adults and adolescents with celiac disease-regarding adherence to the strict gluten-free diet, gastrointestinal symptoms, and meaningful discussion about disease management. Yet, various social media platforms may be underutilized for research purposes to collect patient-reported outcomes data. In this commentary, we summarize the scientific rationale and potential for future growth of social media in patient-reported outcomes research, focusing on college freshmen with celiac disease as a case study and provide overview of the methodological approach. Finally, we discuss how social media may impact patient care in the future through increasing mobile technology use.