Leveraging social media for knowledge management healthcare capability

Purpose This study aims to understand how healthcare social media offer nonmedical psycho-social support for pediatric oncology patients and their care community and how social media can be exploited for healthcare knowledge management. Design/methodology/approach Social media capabilities were identified and categorized based on psycho-social support services for pediatric oncology patients, caregivers and their community of care. Data were collected from 187 service sites representing more than 100 organizations. These broadly defined capabilities in trusted care organizations were analyzed to understand use of social media in providing psycho-social support. Findings Analysis revealed resource guides, stories and in-person support at clinics as the most prevalent forms of technology-guided psycho-social support. Privacy, security and information integrity rose as technical challenges for interactive social media platforms. Medical community trust is inconsistent, leading to immature adoption of critical psycho-social support as a knowledge management source. Findings further indicate the not-for-profit support sector provides robust social media capabilities compared to the healthcare sector. Research limitations/implications Future research may extend to maturing healthcare and not-for-profit sector services and to private sector products such as mobile applications and other technologies. Practical implications Survivor and caregiver quality of life depend on psycho-social support communities and services delivered via social media. Social implications Child protection social implications require significant attention due to sensitivity of security, privacy concerns and longevity of digital footprints for pediatric patients. Originality/value Research demonstrates opportunity for medical provider, healthcare organization, not-for-profit sector, patient and caregiver cooperation using social media. Data indicate healthcare technology systems leveraging social media can extend knowledge management capability beyond organization boundaries.