Discrepancies between psychological stress and emotional care in cancer patients revealed in a social listening analysis

초록

Background Identifying the patient's discomfort and unmet needs is crucial for providing effective care. However, accurately understanding the patient's discomfort can be challenging due to various limitations in the medical field, and in some cases, their discomfort may be underestimated. To better understand the difficulties faced by cancer patients, we implemented Social Listening to identify areas where improved treatment may be provided. Methods From October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022, we gathered online data related to cancer and anti-cancer treatments. Using NetBase as our social listening platform, we filtered out irrelevant and commercial content from the collected data. Results A total of 169,575 social mentions related to cancer and anticancer treatment were collected. Among them, 12% (n=20,899) addressed the challenges experienced by patients following a cancer diagnosis. These challenges were further categorized based on the content of social media posts, with 52% focusing on physical difficulties, 42% on emotional challenges, and 6% on difficulties related to daily life. Emotional difficulties such as worry, denial, depression, fear, and anxiety were prevalent among cancer patients, with variations in priority depending on the time of diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment stages. Of the 16,743 social media discussions related to cancer care, only 9% were related to managing emotional stress. A majority (84%) of discussions related to mental health management involved receiving psychiatric treatment, with the remaining 16% focusing on self-help groups, communication with others, meditation, hobbies, and religious practices. Conclusions Emotional burdens, along with physical difficulties, were frequently discussed on social media. However, there appeared to be a relative lack of focus on the management of emotional burdens. Considering the known association between emotional management and cancer treatment outcomes, it is imperative for physicians to prioritize their patients' emotional well-being and offer appropriate support.