scholarly journals Professionalism in a Digital Age: Opportunities and Considerations for Using Social Media in Health Care

2015 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendra Gagnon ◽  
Carla Sabus

Since the beginning of the millennium, there has been a remarkable change in how people access and share information. Much of this information is user-generated content found on social media sites. As digital technologies and social media continue to expand, health care providers must adapt their professional communication to meet the expectations and needs of consumers. This adaptation may include communication on social media sites. However, many health care providers express concerns that professional social media use, particularly interactions with patients, is ethically problematic. Social media engagement does not create ethical dissonance if best practices are observed and online communication adheres to terms of service, professional standards, and organizational policy. A well-executed social media presence provides health care providers, including physical therapists, the opportunity—and perhaps a professional obligation—to use social media sites to share or create credible health care information, filling a consumer void for high-quality online information on fitness, wellness, and rehabilitation. This perspective article provides a broad review of the emergence of social media in society and health care, explores policy implications of organizational adoption of health care social media, and proposes individual opportunities and guidelines for social media use by the physical therapy professional.

CHEST Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 149 (4) ◽  
pp. A234
Author(s):  
Lauren Quisenberry ◽  
Zoya Surani ◽  
Saherish Surani ◽  
Sivakumar Sudhakaran ◽  
Salim Surani

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deema Farsi ◽  
Hector R Martinez-Menchaca ◽  
Mohammad Ahmed ◽  
Nada Farsi

BACKGROUND People are now connected in a borderless web-based world. The modern public, especially the younger generation, relies heavily on the internet as the main source of health-related information. In health care, patients can use social media for more tailored uses such as telemedicine, finding a provider, and for peer support. OBJECTIVE The aim of this narrative review is to discuss how social media has been used in the health care industry from the perspective of patients and describe the main issues surrounding its use in health care. METHODS Between March and June 2020, a review of the literature was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science for English studies that were published since 2007 and discussed the use of social media in health care. In addition to only English publications that discussed the use of social media by patients, publications pertaining to ethical and legal considerations in the use of social media were included. The studies were then categorized as <i>health information</i>, <i>telemedicine</i>, <i>finding a health care provider</i>, <i>peer support and sharing experiences</i>, and <i>influencing positive health behavior</i>. In addition, two more sections were added to the review: <i>issues pertaining to social media use in health care</i> and <i>ethical considerations</i>. RESULTS Initially, 75 studies were included. As the study proceeded, more studies were included, and a total of 91 studies were reviewed, complemented by 1 textbook chapter and 13 web references. Approximately half of the studies were reviews. The first study was published in 2009, and the last was published in 2021, with more than half of the studies published in the last 5 years. The studies were mostly from the United States (n=40), followed by Europe (n=13), and the least from India (n=1). WhatsApp or WeChat was the most investigated social media platform. CONCLUSIONS Social media can be used by the public and patients to improve their health and knowledge. However, due diligence must be practiced to assess the credibility of the information obtained and its source. Health care providers, patients, and the public need not forget the risks associated with the use of social media. The limitations and shortcomings of the use of social media by patients should be understood.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110257
Author(s):  
Md Irfanuzzaman Khan ◽  
Jennifer (M.I.) Loh

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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992110571
Author(s):  
Behnoosh Momin ◽  
Danielle Nielsen ◽  
Spencer Schaff ◽  
Jennifer L. Mezzo ◽  
Charlene Cariou

Introduction: The Idaho Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (ICCCP) collaborated with the Idaho Immunization Program (IIP) to plan and implement activities to increase knowledge and awareness of liver cancer prevention through tailored hepatitis B immunization messaging to the Idaho community and health care providers. Purpose and Objectives: In this article, we report findings from an evaluation of these activities. Interventions Approach: The two programs implemented liver cancer prevention activities between May 2017 and December 2017; strategies included a social media vaccination awareness campaign and health care provider education. Evaluation Methods: Facebook Insights was used to report, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze, data from the social media campaign. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data collected from a retrospective pre–post survey for the health care provider presentations and paired t-tests were conducted to detect differences between pre- and postexposure. Results: For the social media campaign, ICCCP and IIP posted a total of 32 liver cancer and hepatitis B vaccination posts on their respective Facebook pages, which reached 42,804 unique users. For the health care provider presentations, there was a statistically significant increase in awareness, knowledge, ability, and intention among health care providers. Implications for Public Health: Our evaluation serves as an example of how public health social media can reach consumers and how educating providers can raise awareness on the importance of hepatitis B vaccination as a means of preventing liver cancer.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 606-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabeya Yousuf ◽  
Sheikh Muhammad Abu Bakar ◽  
Mainul Haque ◽  
Md Nurul Islam ◽  
Abdus Salam

Social media connect people by sharing text, photos, audio and videos among themselves. Medical professional and patients also communicate through social media; however, issues of privacy and confidentiality of medical professions in regards to medical and health care decisions contradict with the openness of the usage of social media. Member of the medical profession can use social media but need to abide by the code of conduct of medical ethics in order to render the best possible services. This paper emphasizes on the needs of inclusion of social media usage in future health care providers’ curriculum by the higher educational institutions in order to aware of the ethical and professional aspect.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.16(4) 2017 p.606-609


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S397-S397 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.Ö. Ünsalver ◽  
H. Aktepe

IntroductionThe progress in technology adds to the new ways of communication between people. In our age, online communication has taken the place of face to face communication. People express themselves, become friends and in a way become who they are through the tools of social media. Many biological and psychological factors may affect the choice of people for communicating through social media.ObjectiveMain objective of this research is to measure the frequency of Internet addiction and it's relationship to social media use and impulsivity.MethodsThe population of the study is composed of 117 female (58.5%) and 83 male (41.5%) students between 18–25 years of age from Uskudar University. Barratt Impulsivity Scale and Internet Addiction Scale were used for data collection and measurement of variables.ResultsAmong the participants, 97.5% were found to go online everyday. Among the participants, 74.5% went online for social media use. Only 5% of the subjects fitted the criteria for Internet addiction. Thirty-six percent had limited symptoms for Internet addiction. Internet addiction symptoms and impulsivity were positively related. The tool for Internet access did not affect Internet addiction. Those who used a smart phone went online for social media use more commonly than those who used a computer.ConclusionIt has been debated that social media and the increase in smart phone use may be affecting young people and increase internet addiction rates, however we have found that impulsivity is an important factor for internet addiction as in other types of addiction.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


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