Patient Engagement With Urologists on Social Media in a Community Practice

BACKGROUND The pros and cons of social media usage among healthcare professionals have been debated by researchers. On one hand, research suggested that social media can help with professional networking, knowledge-sharing, and patient engagement. On the other hand, researchers pointed out social media usage can blur the boundary between work and life, cause an intrusion into privacy, and bring challenges to online professionalism. OBJECTIVE To examine how social media were used for work among healthcare professionals in China, as well as to examine the relationship between using social media for work, burnout, and career satisfaction. METHODS A cross-sectional online survey was conducted. A total of 374 healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurses, and medical staff completed the questionnaire. RESULTS Our study suggested that the top three types of professional social media use were 1) to communicate with their colleagues (M 3.70, SD 0.82), 2) to share medical knowledge online (M 3.26, SD 0.88), and to connect with patients after working hours (M 2.87, SD 1.00). In addition, using social media to connect with patients after working hours was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of a sense of personal accomplishment (β=.27, P=.001) and career satisfaction (β=.14, P=.047), as well as a lower likelihood of depersonalization (β=-.17, P=.03). Communicating with other healthcare professionals was positively associated with a sense of personal accomplishment (β=.12, P=.036), and negatively associated with depersonalization (β=-.14, P=.015). CONCLUSIONS Our study provided important evidence revealing new benefits of using social media for work among healthcare professionals in China. Using social media to connect with patients after working hours can help lessen burnout. These two types of usage can increase the likelihood of treating patients as human beings (not as objects), feeling their job is valuable and worthy, and becoming more satisfied with their job. Social media were most frequently used to connect with other healthcare professionals, which can enhance the likelihood of feeling satisfied with their career and reduce the likelihood of feeling depersonalization during work. These findings contributed to the extant scholarship by demonstrating the advantages of using social media for work in regard to alleviating burnout and increasing career satisfaction. Practical implications on using social media for professional networking, knowledge sharing, and patient engagement were discussed. CLINICALTRIAL NA

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Patient engagement or social media marketing?

Canadian Medical Association Journal ◽

10.1503/cmaj.109-4739 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 186 (8) ◽

pp. E237-E238 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

R. Collier

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Patient Engagement ◽

Social Media Marketing

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Internet and Social Media use among Pharmacists in a state in Nigeria

Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics ◽

10.22270/jddt.v9i6.3678 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 95-101

Author(s):

Valentine U Odili ◽

Kingsley Chiedu Amibor ◽

Angela Omoikhefue Obaseki

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Internet Use ◽

The Internet ◽

P Value ◽

Community Practice ◽

Keywords Internet ◽

Chi Square Analysis ◽

Use Of Internet ◽

Internet And Social Media

Objectives: This study determined the use of internet and social media by pharmacists in Delta State as well as their experiences with the internet and patients. Method: This was achieved through the use of a 32 item, structured questionnaire, pretested and administered to 100 pharmacists attending the quarterly meeting of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in Abraka, Delta State. Use of internet and social media were evaluated by Chi square analysis, using SPSS 20. At 95% confidence interval, a 2-tailed, P- value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Of 100 questionnaires administered, 81 were returned, giving a response rate of 81%. Majorities (29.6%) were aged 30-39 years, there were more males (54.3%) than females, one third (39.5%) had been in practice for 1-10 years. Nearly half (48.1%) were in community practice, more than half (56.8%) were practicing in Asaba. Majority (61.7%) used electronic communication for professional services; a quarter (27.2%) used email to communicate with their patients. Whatsapp was 3.5%, text messaging and Face book were 1.2% each. Significant differences were found in their online activities. Reasons for not communicating online included respondents not being computer literate (9.9%), irregular power supply in location (9.9%), lack of time (2.5%). Conclusion: Internet use among respondents in the study area was poor, with those practicing in urban capital using the internet most. There is need to encourage greater internet use among pharmacists because of the obvious benefits to patient care. Keywords: Internet use, pharmacists, social media

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