Medical Information Services in the Age of Social Media and New Customer Channels

Purpose Clubfoot is the most common congenital foot deformity in children. Caregivers often seek medical information on the internet. The aim of the study was to characterize how social media is used by caregivers to access medical information. Methods A search was performed on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube platforms. Information was quantitatively assessed. Comments were qualitatively assessed, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to study thematic comment distribution. Results In total, 58 Facebook groups and pages, 109 YouTube accounts and ten Twitter accounts related to clubfoot were discovered from 2007 to 2019. Facebook groups and pages had a collective 56 123 members and 80 544 total likes, respectively. YouTube had a collective 3 280 454 views, with 54 969 total comments throughout the accounts. Comment themes most commonly included sharing information and advice (38.7%), appreciation and success stories (12.8%), emotional support (12.7%) and social media as a second opinion (11.9%). Facebook groups contained a significantly higher number of comments related to ‘social media as a second opinion’ compared with Facebook pages (p = 0.001), Twitter (p = 0.016) and YouTube (p < 0.0001) while YouTube contained a significantly lower number of comments related to ‘sharing information’ compared with Facebook groups, pages and Twitter (p < 0.0001). Conclusion Social media continues to be a growing tool for information sharing and the findings of this study highlight the importance placed by caregivers on the advice of their peers. The online presence of caregivers may represent an opportunity for orthopaedic surgeons to communicate with patients and help them make informed decisions. Level of evidence IV

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Report of the 16th Meeting on Medical Information Services

Igaku Toshokan ◽

10.7142/igakutoshokan.46.442 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 442-446

Author(s):

Zenshiro TOSAKA

Keyword(s):

Medical Information ◽

Information Services

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INDIVIDUALS’ BEHAVIOR TOWARDS INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA MEDICAL INFORMATION IN DAMMAM AND KHOBAR PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTERS

10.36106/1340472 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 12-16

Author(s):

Dania Alshiha ◽

Mashael Alghamdi ◽

Abeer Aldakhil

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Social Media ◽

Primary Health Care ◽

Medical Information ◽

Treatment Plan ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Primary Health ◽

Primary Health Care Centers ◽

Health Care Centers ◽

Internet And Social Media

Nowadays, internet and social media are being used widely. They affect individuals who seek medical information, as a result, inaccurate information lead individuals to misdiagnose themselves and change their treatment plan. The purpose of this study is to determine the behavior of individuals regarding using internet and social media to obtain medical information, sociodemographic factors and reasons for seeking medical information. This study employed a cross-sectional analytical design in primary health care centers in Dammam and Khobar cities. A total of 439 participants were invited to complete a structured, self-administered questionnaire. The results of the study revealed that 87.7% used internet and social media to obtain medical information. The most common reason for searching was symptoms participants had 42.9%. Eighty ve percent were inuenced and 15% were rarely inuenced by the information obtained. More than half of individuals had a positive behavioral change. Majority of individuals had veried the information they obtained, mostly with a physician 83.6%.

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Politicization of discussions of Covid-19 on Twitter

Philological Sciences Scientific Essays of Higher Education ◽

10.20339/phs.6-21.003 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (6) ◽

pp. 3-11

Author(s):

Irina G. Ovchinnikova ◽

◽

Liana M. Ermakova ◽

Diana M. Nurbakova ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Public Opinion ◽

Semantic Analysis ◽

Medical Information ◽

Information Cascades ◽

Medical Problems ◽

Significant Information ◽

Information Distortion ◽

Public Figures ◽

English Speaking

Power of social media including Twitter for English speaking community to shape public opinion becomes critical during the current pandemic because of misinformation. The existing studies on spreading misinformation on social media hypothesise that the initial message is fake. In contrast, we focus on information distortion occurring in cascades as the initial message about the Covid-19 treatment is quoted or receives a reply. Public persons discuss medical information on Twitter providing fast and simple response to complex medical problems that users find very attractive to follow. Followers generate information cascades while quoting and commenting on the initial message. In the cascades, medical information from the initial tweet is often distorted. The discussion of the Covid-19 treatment in the cascades is politicized according to users’ political sympathies. We show a significant information shift in cascades initiated by public figures during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study provide valuable insights for the semantic analysis of information distortion.

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Innovations in the area of social media

Oxford Textbook of Public Mental Health ◽

10.1093/med/9780198792994.003.0055 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 521-530

Author(s):

Annisa Lee ◽

Stephan Hyeonjun Stiller

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Support Groups ◽

Social Networking Sites ◽

Generational Differences ◽

Medical Information ◽

Mobile Apps ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Online Psychotherapy ◽

Use Of Social Media

An estimated 2.62 billion people use social networking sites worldwide. Only recently have studies been carried out to explore the impact of social media in terms of creating new conditions such as cyberbullying, Internet addictions, and suicide contagion, among many other forms of mental health concerns. However, social media can play a role in education and public mental health interventions. Different types of social media include computerized self-help strategies, online psychotherapy and support groups, websites with medical information, forums, blogs, web applications, mobile apps, games, and networking platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Snapchat, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Pinterest, and Reddit. There are generational differences in the degree of familiarity and use of social media for gathering information and seeking education. The challenge for clinicians and public health educators is to try and use social media for betterment of society.

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Use of Social Media in Health Communication: Findings From the Health Information National Trends Survey 2013, 2014, and 2017

Cancer Control ◽

10.1177/1073274819841442 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 107327481984144 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jinhai Huo ◽

Raj Desai ◽

Young-Rock Hong ◽

Kea Turner ◽

Arch G. Mainous ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Social Media ◽

Health Communication ◽

Sample Size ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Medical Information ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

National Trends ◽

Pooled Sample

The number of social media users has increased substantially in the past decade, creating an opportunity for health-care professionals and patients to leverage social media for health communication. This study examines the recent use and predictors of social media for health communication in a nationally representative sample of US adults over time. We used 2013, 2014, and 2017 National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey to identify respondents’ use of social media for sharing health information or exchanging medical information with a health-care professional. We conducted bivariate analysis using the Pearson χ2 test to assess the association of respondents’ basic demographic characteristics as well as health status and the use of social media for health communication. We performed multivariable logistic regression models to examine factors associated with the use of social media for health communication. We identified 4242 respondents (weighted sample size: 343 465 241 [2-year pooled sample]) who used social media for sharing health information and 4834 respondents (weighted sample size: 354 419 489 [2-year pooled sample]) who used social media for exchanging medical information. Multivariable analyses indicated the proportion of respondents who used social media for sharing health information has decreased (odds ratio [OR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49-0.85, P = .002), while the use of social media for exchanging medical information with a health-care professional has increased (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.09-3.26, P = .025). The younger population had significantly higher odds of using social media for health communication. The study found no racial/ethnic disparities in the use of social media for health communication. Use of social media for sharing health information has declined, while exchanging medical information with health-care professionals has increased. Future research is needed to determine how to engage the population in social media–based health interventions, particularly for older adults.

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Mechanized Processing and Retrieval of Bio-Medical Information

Methods of Information in Medicine ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1636164 ◽

1962 ◽

Vol 01 (01) ◽

pp. 16-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

W. A. Southern

Keyword(s):

Information Retrieval ◽

Retrieval System ◽

Medical Information ◽

Information Retrieval System ◽

Information Services ◽

Coding System ◽

Periodical Literature ◽

Digit Number ◽

Science Information ◽

Future Plans

A report is given on the mechanized information retrieval system in operation in the Abbott Laboratories’ Science Information Services which is used for the biomedical periodical literature;i Q’ The system uses a random 12-digit number coding system and an IBM Electronic Statistical Machine 101. The following subjects are discussed in detail: the dictionary; abstracting, coding, and machine searching procedure; uses of the Abbott Abstracts; limitations of the system, and future plans for an improved system.

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