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Nutritional Online Information for Cancer Patients: a Randomized Trial of an Internet Communication Plus Social Media Intervention

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Abstract

We hypothesized that cancer patients using an Internet website would show an improvement in the knowledge about healthy eating habits, and this might be enhanced by social media interaction. A 6-month randomized intervention was set up. Eligible subjects were allocated in intervention (IG) and control groups (CG). IG had access to the website, and CG was provided with printed versions. All enrolled participants filled in Nutrition Questionnaire (NQ), Quality of Life Questionnaire (QoL) and Psychological Distress Inventory (PDI), at baseline and after 6 months. The difference between post- vs pre-questionnaires was calculated. Seventy-four subjects (CG 39; IG 35) completed the study. There was an increase in the score after the intervention in both groups for the NQ, even if not statistically significant. Dividing the IG into three categories, no (NI), low (LI) and high interactions (HI), we found a decreased score (improvement) in the CG (−0.2) and in the HI (−1.7), and an increased score (worsening) in the NI (+3.3) (p = NS) analysing the PDI. We found an increased score in the QoL both in CG and IG (adjusted LSMeans +3.5 and +2.8 points, respectively; p = NS). This study represents an example for support cancer patients. Despite the lack of significant effects, critical points and problems encountered may be of interest to researchers and organization working in the cancer setting. Intervention strategies to support patients during the care process are needed in order to attain the full potential of patient-centred care on cancer outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

The present work was funded by EuroCancerComs project in the framework of the FP 7 Science in Society Programme—Project number: 230548. Special thanks are due to the Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI), the Italian Association for cancer patients, their families and friend (AIMaC), the Italian Federation of Volunteer-Based Cancer Organizations (FAVO), the Italian cancer network Alleanza Contro il Cancro (ACC) and the European Institute of Oncology (IEO). We thank William Russel-Edu for the help with the literature and Cristina Vanazzi for the illustrations used in the website. We thank the group of experts involved in the study for their help, suggestions and comments: Chiara Catania, oncologist, European Institute of Oncology (medical oncology); Elisabetta Iannelli, patient representative, FAVO (legal aspect); Emanuela Omodeo Salè, pharmacist, European Institute of Oncology (medicinal drugs); Rosa Oricchio, psychologist, AIMaC; Anna Rita Sabbatini, dietician, European Institute of Oncology (nutrition) and Alberto Sbanotto, oncologist expert on palliative care, European Institute of Oncology.

Conflicts of Interest

Patrizia Gnagnarella, Alessandro Maria Misotti, Luigi Santoro, Demosthenes Akoumianakis, Laura Del Campo, Francesco De Lorenzo, Claudio Lombardo, Giannis Milolidakis, Richard Sullivan and John Gordon McVie declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, European Institute of Oncology, Via Ramusio 1, 20141, Milan, Italy

    Patrizia Gnagnarella, Alessandro Maria Misotti & Luigi Santoro

  2. Centre for Technological Research of Crete, Technological Education Institution of Crete, Crete, Greece

    Demosthenes Akoumianakis & Giannis Milolidakis

  3. Federazione Italiana Delle Associazioni di Volontariato in Oncologia, Rome, Italy

    Laura Del Campo & Francesco De Lorenzo

  4. Organisation of the European Cancer Institute, Brussels, Belgium

    Claudio Lombardo

  5. SOS Europe Srl, Genoa, Italy

    Claudio Lombardo

  6. King’s College London, London, UK

    Richard Sullivan

  7. Scientific Directorate, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    John Gordon McVie

Authors
  1. Patrizia Gnagnarella
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  2. Alessandro Maria Misotti
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  3. Luigi Santoro
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  4. Demosthenes Akoumianakis
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  5. Laura Del Campo
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  6. Francesco De Lorenzo
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  7. Claudio Lombardo
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  8. Giannis Milolidakis
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  9. Richard Sullivan
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  10. John Gordon McVie
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alessandro Maria Misotti.

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Gnagnarella, P., Misotti, A.M., Santoro, L. et al. Nutritional Online Information for Cancer Patients: a Randomized Trial of an Internet Communication Plus Social Media Intervention. J Canc Educ 31, 472–480 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0820-5

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