Healthcare practitioners’ views of social media as an educational resource

Social media is increasingly utilized as a resource in healthcare. We sought to identify perceptions of using social media as an educational tool among healthcare practitioners. An electronic survey was distributed to healthcare administrators, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, physicians, and physician assistants f hospital systems and affiliated health science schools in Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Survey questions evaluated respondents’ use and views of social media for educational purposes and workplace accessibility using a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Nurses (75%), pharmacists (11%), and administrators (7%) were the most frequent respondents. Facebook® (27%), Pinterest® (17%), and Instagram® (17%) were the most frequently accessed social media platforms. Nearly 85% agreed or strongly agreed that social media can be an effective tool for educational purposes. Among those who had social media platforms, 43.0% use them for educational purposes. Pinterest® (30%), Facebook® (22%), LinkedIn® (16%), and Twitter® (14%) were most frequently used for education. About 50% of respondents had limited or no access to social media at work. Administrators, those with unlimited and limited work access, and respondents aged 20–29 and 30–39 years were more likely to agree that social media is an educational tool (OR: 3.41 (95% CI 1.31 to 8.84), 4.18 (95% CI 2.30 to 7.60), 1.66 (95% CI 1.22 to 2.25), 4.40 (95% CI 2.80 to 6.92), 2.14 (95% CI 1.53 to 3.01) respectively). Residents, physicians, and those with unlimited access were less likely to agree with allowing social media access at work for educational purposes only. Healthcare practitioners frequently utilize social media, and many believe it can be an effective educational tool in healthcare.

社交媒体在医疗保健领域的应用日益广泛，本研究旨在探究医疗保健从业者对将社交媒体作为教育工具的认知。通过向佐治亚州、马里兰州、南卡罗来纳州和威斯康星州的医疗体系及附属健康科学学校的医疗管理人员、护士、执业护士、药剂师、医师及医师助理发放电子调查问卷，评估受访者对社交媒体在教育目的及职场可及性方面的使用和观点。调查问题采用李克特量表（1代表强烈反对，5代表强烈同意）进行评估。其中，护士（75%）、药剂师（11%）及管理人员（7%）为最常见的受访者群体。Facebook®（27%）、Pinterest®（17%）和Instagram®（17%）是最常访问的社交媒体平台。近85%的受访者表示同意或强烈同意社交媒体在教育目的上可以成为有效的工具。在拥有社交媒体平台的受访者中，43.0%将其用于教育目的。Pinterest®（30%）、Facebook®（22%）、LinkedIn®（16%）和Twitter®（14%）是最常用于教育的平台。大约50%的受访者表示在工作中对社交媒体的访问受限或无权访问。管理人员、享有不限及有限工作访问权限的人员，以及20至29岁和30至39岁的受访者更有可能认为社交媒体是教育工具（OR：3.41（95% CI 1.31至8.84）、4.18（95% CI 2.30至7.60）、1.66（95% CI 1.22至2.25）、4.40（95% CI 2.80至6.92）、2.14（95% CI 1.53至3.01）分别）。住院医师、医师及享有无限访问权限的人员则不太可能同意仅在工作场所允许使用社交媒体进行教育。医疗保健从业者普遍使用社交媒体，许多人认为其在医疗保健领域可以作为有效的教育工具。