ABSTRACT
Background: Unprecendented emergency measures applied in Italy due to coronavirus pandemic have determined the development of new strategies to support oncological patients. In this context, social networking has represented a privileged tool. The objective of this study is to evaluate how the national cancer patient support associations have used facebook to support oncological patients during lockdown period in Italy. Material and Methods: Data have been obtained by the analysis of posts inserted on Facebook pages by the Italian cancer patient associations between 31 January 2020 (first cases reported in Italy in Rome) and 4 May 2020 (start up phase II after lockdown).The search of associations was conducted on Facebook and web search engines. Results: A total of 64 pages of cancer patient associations, primarly residents in the Northern regions (50%), 26% in the center of Italy and 20% in the Southern regions, have been analyzed. A large proportion of the association (42.5%) deal with all tumor pathologies, 20.3% are specially dedicated to breast cancer and 7.4% to melanoma. Ten associations have not updated their pages in the referred period. Published posts in all examined pages are in total 931 and mainly referred to services and initiatives promoted by the associations (psychological support, streaming events, home care: 21,1%);information about the COVID-19 and indications to prevent trasmission (17.4%);update on cancer treatments (17.3%);surveys, vademecum and guidelines for oncological patients (13%);fundraising (6.4%) to donate medical devices for COVID-19 emergency;information about the activation of new clinical trials during the pandemic (5%). The most frequent hashtags have been: #covid19, #coronavirus, #iorestoacasa, #stopcoronavirus. Most liked post, promoting a fundraising to support cancer patients during lockdown period, has obtained 1800 like and 527 emoji heart. A new Care reaction, a virtual HUG launched in late April by Facebook to show support during the COVID-19 crisis has been used 38 times in the different posts. Moreover, several initiatives have been carried out on Facebook such as: home concerts, tutorials, webinar, to share emotions, support and spend time together. Conclusions: The use of Facebook during COVID-19 lockdown has represented for cancer patient associations a new virtual space of meeting and supporting and a tool to reduce distances and the concerns related not only to cancer, but also to the danger of COVID-19.