Online Social Support in the Saskatchewan Heart Failure Network: An Interpretive Description Approach

The management and prevention of cardiovascular disease is one of the most significant challenges to the health care system, both nationally and internationally. Health 2.0 is a term that denotes the use of web-based tools by health care professionals to communicate with patients, collaborate with other health professionals, and provide health information. The purpose of this interpretive description research study was to explore the factors that have and will continue to influence or contribute to caregivers' use of social networking as a form of social support when a family member is learning to live well with heart failure. The researcher created, designed, and developed a social networking site for caregivers. Following focus group sessions with health care professionals, the Living Well with Heart Failure NING site was reviewed and approved for use. Six caregivers participated on the website and were interviewed before and after participation. The results of this research study provided an insight into the factors that have contributed to the caregivers' search for online sources of health information and peer support. The caregivers’ and health care professionals' perceived consequences of utilizing online resources and social support are also identified. Health care professionals and caregivers found the social networking site easy to use, recommended the use of a moderator, and stressed the need for reliable and trustworthy information. Recommendations for health regions, health care professionals, caregivers, web developers and nurse educators are provided along with implications for nursing practice