Benefits, Challenges, and Social Impact of Health Care Providers’ Adoption of Social Media

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110257
Author(s):  
Md Irfanuzzaman Khan ◽  
Jennifer (M.I.) Loh
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Australian Health ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Use Of Social Media

With the advent of telecommunication technologies and social media, many health care professionals are using social media to communicate with their patients and to promote health. However, the literature reveals a lacuna in our understanding of health care professionals’ perception of their behavioral intentions to use innovations. Using the Unified Technology Acceptance Framework (unified theory of acceptance and use of technology), in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 Australian health care experts to uncover their intent and actual use of social media in their medical practices. Results revealed that social media tools offered five significant benefits such as (i) enhanced communication between health care professionals and their patients, (ii) community support, (iii) enabled e-learning, (iv) enhanced professional network, and (v) expedited health promotion. However, result also revealed barriers to social media usage including (i) inefficiency, (ii) privacy concerns, (iii) poor quality of information, (iv) lack of trust, and (v) blurred professional boundary. Peer influence and supporting conditions were also found to be determinants of social media adoption behaviors among health care professionals. This study has important implications for health care providers, patients, and policy makers on the responsible use of social media, health promotion, and health communication. This research is also among the very few studies that explore Australian health care professionals’ intent and actual use of innovations within a health care setting.

Stress management for headaches in children and adolescents: A review and practical recommendations for health promotion programs and well-being

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Bougea ◽  
Nikolaos Spantideas ◽  
George P Chrousos
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Health Promotion Programs ◽  
Headache Management

Stress is considered to be the most common factor reported to trigger headaches in children and adolescents. Although tension-type headache and migraine are the two most common types of headache in children and adolescents, they are often untreated, ignoring their stressful background. We provide a narrative review of the available evidence for health-care professionals involved in stress-related headache management and health promotion programs. An integrative plan is delivered through lifestyle improvement and biopsychosocial modifying stress response techniques. Healthy dietary choices, sleep hygiene, and regular exercise, although limited, are effective for young sufferers. Biopsychosocial therapies such as relaxation, biofeedback, hypnosis, yoga, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acupuncture focus at stress physiological and behavioral relief. Our purpose is to suggest a stress-related headache management to empower children to make healthy choices in order to improve their lifelong well-being and quality of life. We aim to authorize relationship between nurses and other health-care providers with background knowledge around stress management for pediatric headache populations.

Tuberculosis Outbreak Associated With Delayed Diagnosis and Long Infectious Periods in Rural Arkansas, 2010-2018

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492199916
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Labuda ◽  
Clinton McDaniel ◽  
Amish Talwar ◽  
Anthwan Braumuller ◽  
Sarah Parker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Black People ◽  
Delayed Diagnosis ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Infectious Period ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Objectives During 2010-2018, the Arkansas Department of Health reported 21 genotype-matched cases of tuberculosis (TB) among residents of a rural county in Arkansas with a low incidence of TB and in nearby counties. The Arkansas Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated to determine the extent of TB transmission and provide recommendations for TB control. Methods We reviewed medical and public health records, interviewed patients, and reviewed patients’ social media posts to describe patient characteristics, identify epidemiologic links, and establish likely chains of transmission. Results We identified 21 cases; 11 reported during 2010-2013 and 10 during 2016-2018. All case patients were US-born non-Hispanic Black people. Eighteen case patients had the outbreak genotype, and 3 clinically diagnosed (non–culture-confirmed) case patients had epidemiologic links to patients with the outbreak genotype. Social media reviews revealed epidemiologic links among 10 case patients not previously disclosed during interviews. Eight case patients (38%) had ≥1 health care visit during their infectious period, and 7 patients had estimated infectious periods of >12 months. Conclusions Delayed diagnoses and prolonged infectiousness led to TB transmission in this rural community. TB education and awareness is critical to reducing transmission, morbidity, and mortality, especially in areas where health care providers have limited TB experience. Use of social media can help elucidate people at risk, especially when traditional TB investigation techniques are insufficient.

scholarly journals Diabetes Online Community User Perceptions of Successful Aging With Diabetes: Analysis of a #DSMA Tweet Chat (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L Litchman ◽  
Christopher Snider ◽  
Linda S Edelman ◽  
Sarah E Wawrzynski ◽  
Perry M Gee
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Diabetes Management ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Access To Treatment ◽  
Specialized Care ◽  
Use Of Social Media

BACKGROUND According to the American Diabetes Association, there are approximately 30.3 million Americans with diabetes, and the incidence is growing by nearly 1.5 million cases per year. These individuals are at particularly high risk of developing secondary comorbid conditions related to diabetes and aging. Nearly 45% of individuals aged 65 to 75 years use social media, and this number is steadily growing. The use of social media provides the opportunity to assess the perceptions and needs of this population. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine stakeholder perceptions of successful aging with diabetes. METHODS This study presents a retrospective analysis of a tweet chat focused on aging with diabetes. Tweets were collected using Symplur Signals data analytics software (Symplur LLC) and analyzed for content analysis, sentiment, and participant demographics. Two authors reviewed discussion posts for accuracy of analysis. RESULTS A total of 59 individuals participated in this tweet chat generating 494 tweets and nearly 2 million impressions. Most (36/59, 63%) tweet chat participants were people living with diabetes; 25% (14/59) were caregivers and advocates. Seven countries were represented in the conversation. A majority (352/494, 71.3%) of the tweets indicated positive sentiment related to aging with diabetes. Five major themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: (1) personal decline now and in the future, (2) limited access to treatment, (3) inability to provide self-care, (4) health care provider capacity to support aging with diabetes, and (5) life-long online peer health support to facilitate diabetes management. CONCLUSIONS Individuals with diabetes are living longer and want to be supported with specialized care and access to technology that will allow them to successfully age. Aging- and diabetes-related changes may complicate diabetes management into old age. People with diabetes desire options including aging in place; therefore, special training for care partners and health care providers who care for older adults is needed.

scholarly journals The Environmental Causes of Cancer: A Literature Review

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Premal Patel ◽  
James Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Interprofessional Communication

Social media holds considerable potential for health promotion and other health intervention activities, as it addresses some of the limitations in traditional health communication by increasing accessibility, interaction, engagement, empowerment and customization. The use of social media increases the potential for easy access to preventive medicine, interaction with health care providers, interprofessional communication in emergency management, and public health. However, more research is needed to determine its long term effectiveness and to maximize the strategic presence of health organizations on social networking websites. This paper provides encouraging information about the possibilities of using social media to improve access to health information and health care providers, as well as to promote positive health behaviour change. It is essential for health promotion organizations to capitalize on the opportunities provided by social media, in order to modernize strategies to reach all age groups and to tailor programs to current communication trends, all of which are offered at a relatively low cost. 

scholarly journals Public Disclosure on Social Media of Identifiable Patient Information by Health Professionals: Content Analysis of Twitter Data

10.2196/19746 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. e19746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wasim Ahmed ◽  
Reshma Jagsi ◽  
Thomas G Gutheil ◽  
Matthew S Katz
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Privacy ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Intercoder Reliability

Background Respecting patient privacy and confidentiality is critical for doctor-patient relationships and public trust in medical professionals. The frequency of potentially identifiable disclosures online during periods of active engagement is unknown. Objective The objective of this study was to quantify potentially identifiable content shared on social media by physicians and other health care providers using the hashtag #ShareAStoryInOneTweet. Methods We accessed and searched Twitter’s API using Symplur software for tweets that included the hashtag #ShareAStoryInOneTweet. We identified 1206 tweets by doctors, nurses, and other health professionals out of 43,374 tweets shared in May 2018. Tweet content was evaluated in January 2019 to determine the incidence of instances where names or potentially identifiable information about patients were shared; content analysis of tweets in which information about others had been disclosed was performed. The study also evaluated whether participants raised concerns about privacy breaches and estimated the frequency of deleted tweets. The study used dual, blinded coding for a 10% sample to estimate intercoder reliability using Cohen κ statistic for identifying the potential identifiability of tweet content. Results Health care professionals (n=656) disclosing information about others included 486 doctors (74.1%) and 98 nurses (14.9%). Health care professionals sharing stories about patient care disclosed the time frame in 95 tweets (95/754, 12.6%) and included patient names in 15 tweets (15/754, 2.0%). It is estimated that friends or families could likely identify the clinical scenario described in 242 of the 754 tweets (32.1%). Among 348 tweets about potentially living patients, it was estimated that 162 (46.6%) were likely identifiable by patients. Intercoder reliability in rating the potential identifiability demonstrated 86.8% agreement, with a Cohen κ of 0.8 suggesting substantial agreement. We also identified 78 out of 754 tweets (6.5%) that had been deleted on the website but were still viewable in the analytics software data set. Conclusions During periods of active sharing online, nurses, physicians, and other health professionals may sometimes share more information than patients or families might expect. More study is needed to determine whether similar events arise frequently and to understand how to best ensure that patients’ rights are adequately respected.

scholarly journals Public Disclosure on Social Media of Identifiable Patient Information by Health Professionals: Content Analysis of Twitter Data (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wasim Ahmed ◽  
Reshma Jagsi ◽  
Thomas G Gutheil ◽  
Matthew S Katz
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Privacy ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Intercoder Reliability

BACKGROUND Respecting patient privacy and confidentiality is critical for doctor-patient relationships and public trust in medical professionals. The frequency of potentially identifiable disclosures online during periods of active engagement is unknown. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to quantify potentially identifiable content shared on social media by physicians and other health care providers using the hashtag #ShareAStoryInOneTweet. METHODS We accessed and searched Twitter’s API using Symplur software for tweets that included the hashtag #ShareAStoryInOneTweet. We identified 1206 tweets by doctors, nurses, and other health professionals out of 43,374 tweets shared in May 2018. Tweet content was evaluated in January 2019 to determine the incidence of instances where names or potentially identifiable information about patients were shared; content analysis of tweets in which information about others had been disclosed was performed. The study also evaluated whether participants raised concerns about privacy breaches and estimated the frequency of deleted tweets. The study used dual, blinded coding for a 10% sample to estimate intercoder reliability using Cohen κ statistic for identifying the potential identifiability of tweet content. RESULTS Health care professionals (n=656) disclosing information about others included 486 doctors (74.1%) and 98 nurses (14.9%). Health care professionals sharing stories about patient care disclosed the time frame in 95 tweets (95/754, 12.6%) and included patient names in 15 tweets (15/754, 2.0%). It is estimated that friends or families could likely identify the clinical scenario described in 242 of the 754 tweets (32.1%). Among 348 tweets about potentially living patients, it was estimated that 162 (46.6%) were likely identifiable by patients. Intercoder reliability in rating the potential identifiability demonstrated 86.8% agreement, with a Cohen κ of 0.8 suggesting substantial agreement. We also identified 78 out of 754 tweets (6.5%) that had been deleted on the website but were still viewable in the analytics software data set. CONCLUSIONS During periods of active sharing online, nurses, physicians, and other health professionals may sometimes share more information than patients or families might expect. More study is needed to determine whether similar events arise frequently and to understand how to best ensure that patients’ rights are adequately respected.

scholarly journals Social Media and its Use in Health Promotion

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joëlle J Levac ◽  
Tracey O'Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Interprofessional Communication

Social media holds considerable potential for health promotion and other health intervention activities, as it addresses some of the limitations in traditional health communication by increasing accessibility, interaction, engagement, empowerment and customization. The use of social media increases the potential for easy access to preventive medicine, interaction with health care providers, interprofessional communication in emergency management, and public health. However, more research is needed to determine its long term effectiveness and to maximize the strategic presence of health organizations on social networking websites. This paper provides encouraging information about the possibilities of using social media to improve access to health information and health care providers, as well as to promote positive health behaviour change. It is essential for health promotion organizations to capitalize on the opportunities provided by social media, in order to modernize strategies to reach all age groups and to tailor programs to current communication trends, all of which are offered at a relatively low cost. 

scholarly journals Burnout Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Health-Care Professionals at Assiut University Hospitals, 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5368
Author(s):  
Shimaa A. Elghazally ◽  
Atef F. Alkarn ◽  
Hussein Elkhayat ◽  
Ahmed K. Ibrahim ◽  
Mariam Roshdy Elkhayat
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Personal Accomplishment ◽  
Burnout Syndrome ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
University Hospitals

Background: burnout syndrome is a serious and growing problem among medical staff. Its adverse outcomes not only affect health-care providers’ health, but also extend to their patients, resulting in bad-quality care. The COVID-19 pandemic puts frontline health-care providers at greater risk of psychological stress and burnout syndrome. Objectives: this study aimed to identify the levels of burnout among health-care professionals currently working at Assiut University hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: the current study adopted an online cross-sectional design using the SurveyMonkey® website for data collection. A total of 201 physicians were included and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) scale was used to assess the three burnout syndrome dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Results: about one-third, two-thirds, and one-quarter of the respondents had high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment, respectively. Younger, resident, and single physicians reported higher burnout scores. The personal accomplishment score was significantly higher among males. Those working more than eight hours/day and dealing with COVID-19 patients had significantly higher scores. Conclusion: during the COVID-19 pandemic, a high prevalence of burnout was recorded among physicians. Age, job title, working duration, and working hours/day were significant predictors for burnout syndrome subscale results. Preventive and interventive programs should be applied in health-care organizations during pandemics.

scholarly journals Preferences and Perceptions of Patients Attending Emergency Departments with Low Acuity Problems in Hong Kong

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
CA Graham ◽  
WO Kwok ◽  
YL Tsang ◽  
TH Rainer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Waiting Time ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Waiting Times ◽  
Medical Advice ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Waiting Area

Objective To explore why patients in Hong Kong seek medical advice from the emergency department (ED) and to identify the methods by which patients would prefer to be updated on the likely waiting time for medical consultation in the ED. Methods The study recruited 249 semi-urgent and non-urgent patients in the ED of Prince of Wales Hospital from 26th September 2005 to 30th September 2005 inclusive. A convenience sample of subjects aged ≥15 years old in triage categories 4 or 5 were verbally consented and interviewed by research nurses using a standardized questionnaire. Results From 1715 potential patients, 249 were recruited ad hoc (mean age 44 years [SD18]; 123 females). About 63% indicated that an acceptable ED waiting time was less than or equal to two hours, and 88% felt that having individual number cards and using a number allocation screen in the ED waiting area would be useful. Perceived reasons for attending the ED rather than other health care providers such as primary health care or the general outpatient clinic (GOPC) included: a desire for more detailed investigations (56%); a perception that more professional medical advice was given in the ED (35%); patients were under the continuing care of the hospital (19%); and patients were referred to the ED by other health care professionals (11%). Notably, 26% of participants had considered attending the GOPC prior to attending the ED. Patients educated to tertiary level expected a shorter waiting time than those educated to lesser degrees (p=0.026, Kruskal-Wallis test). Suggestions were made on how to provide a more pleasant ED environment for the wait for consultations, which included the provision of a television screen with sound in the waiting area (43%), more comfortable chairs (37%) and health care promotion programs (32%). Conclusion Patients chose ED services because they believed they would receive more detailed investigations and more professional medical advice than available alternatives. Clear notification of the likely waiting times and enhancement of comfort before consultation are considered desirable by patients. Enhanced public education about the role of the ED and making alternatives to ED care more accessible may be useful in reducing inappropriate ED attendances in Hong Kong.

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