Social Media Use and Empowerment in Dementia Care: Facebook Groups for Family Caregivers as an Example.

The expected and nearing approach of a super-aged society and dementia "tsunami" in Taiwan must be prioritized by healthcare professionals to help family caregivers of patients with dementia find effective health information and social support and become more empowered in their caregiving roles. The multiple information and communication technology (ICT) platforms currently available for dementia education and family caregivers range from websites and apps designed by healthcare professionals to social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. This article discusses the characteristics of social media, lists the various ICT applications available for dementia care, and highlights the advantages of using Facebook groups created by family caregivers over other digital tools in terms of empowering family caregivers. Finally, the author shares his own field observations of family caregivers FB groups, with the findings expected to assist healthcare professionals, including nurses, to develop and implement more-effective social media strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]