Grant: Knowledge Synthesis Grant

Social media is changing the way we communicate. Children and youth are using social media more and more to find information, and to share information with others. Social media is also being used within health care to help share information and promote health and well-being. Social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube offer many benefits, but they also carry risks to personal safety. These risks can include cyber-bullying or breach of confidentiality. There is an increasing volume of research on the use of social media in mental health care but this research has not been comprehensively and systematically reviewed. In this project we will identify all of the research that has evaluated the usefulness and safety of social media in the context of children and youth with mental health conditions. We will also explore how social media works so that we can identify features that help to improve health outcomes. Social media is a novel and powerful method of communicating. This project will provide information to help guide organizations that are using social media in mental health care, specifically for children and youth with mental health problems.