1. How to Engage Older LGBTQIA+ Patients: Lessons Learned From Mayo Clinic Connect, a 100,000+-Participant Social Media Platform.
- Author
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Fee-Schroeder K, Young C, Chedid V, Jatoi A, and Cathcart-Rake E
- Abstract
Background: Older LGBTQIA+ patients face discrimination in healthcare and therefore are sometimes reluctant to engage and interact with healthcare providers. This report explores whether a large medically-based internet platform can be used to engage these patients and describes preferable methods for doing so., Methods: This study used Mayo Clinic Connect, a continuously monitored, internet-based social media platform of 100,000-plus users. Participants completed a brief on-line survey to ensure their study eligibility. No patient-identifying data was asked. Participants then were to call in by phone during specified day time hours for a 45-minute qualitative interview. Alternatively, as a second subsequent option, they were to complete an on-line typed response to 4 questions about their health and healthcare. No temporal overlap occurred between the availability of the phone interview option and the typed-in response option., Results: For the phone interviews, 17 of 64 individuals were deemed eligible, but no individual called in to be interviewed. In contrast, for the typed-in response option, 20 of 37 individuals were eligible and provided comments., Conclusion: A large medically-based internet platform can be used to engage older LGBTQIA+ patients, but the use of typed-in comments appears more successful, presumably because of greater anonymity and convenience., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
- Published
- 2024
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