Identifying resource needs of patients with breast cancer by examining alignment of Reddit post content with BREAST-Q domains.

Résumé

BACKGROUND: Reddit is a popular online forum for breast cancer survivors, but its content is largely unstudied. We compared topics discussed on the r/breastcancer subreddit to BREAST-Q, a validated breast surgery patient-reported outcome measure. We hypothesized that Reddit discussions would align with, yet transcend, BREAST-Q domains (BQDs).METHODS: The top 1000 original posts (OP) on r/breastcancer were extracted using R studio. Content analysis and thematic coding (TC) were performed independently by five trained coders. Deductive TC was conducted using the BQDs as a framework for themes. Inductive TC was conducted to establish other emerging themes.RESULTS: Of the 1000 OPs analyzed, 828 included topics covered by BQDs. All BQDs were represented, including "Psychosocial Well-Being" (57 ​%), "Physical Well-Being" (18 ​%), "Satisfaction with Care" (11 ​%), "Satisfaction with Outcome" (8.0 ​%), "Satisfaction with Breasts" (3.4 ​%), and "Sexual Well-Being" (2.5 ​%).CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer survivors would benefit from more resources targeting psychosocial and physical well-being.