Abstract
Diagnosis of a serious illness among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) can be socially isolating. Social media platforms may provide a method for AYAs to communicate with peers about their health. The following is a case report of a 16-year-old male diagnosed with heart failure and undergoing heart transplant evaluation. During his prolonged hospitalization, he identified the social media platform, Snapchat, as a tool to communicate with his peers about his diagnosis, treatment, and hospital course. Social media may provide a means for coping and relationship building for AYAs in the setting of serious illness. Further exploration into understanding how AYAs use social media as a platform to process a serious illness may help providers to counsel patients and families about safe social media practice regarding information gathering and sharing online.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 599-601 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Journal of Adolescent Health |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2023 |
Keywords
- Palliative care
- Serious illness
- Social media
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health