International Urology Journal Club via Twitter: 12-month experience

What is the effect of posting video abstracts on journal article impact?

This study assessed the impact of posting video abstracts on journal articles and authors' X engagement. European Journal of Sport Science articles were disseminated on X as animated video abstracts (AN), author-provided video abstracts (AU), or title-only (TO) posts. Metrics, including page views, Altmetric Attention Score (AAS), X engagements, impressions, link clicks, media engagements, and views, were compared at 7 and 30 days. Authors' X presence and video abstract creation were also examined. Page views did not differ between groups after 7 or 30 days. After 7 days, AN received significantly more AAS, impressions, media views and media engagements than AU or TO. After 30 days, AN received significantly more AAS, impressions, engagements, media views and media engagements than AU or TO. TO received significantly more link clicks than AU or TO after 7 and 30 days. Fifty percent of authors have an X account and 11.2% indicated interest in creating a video abstract. Articles promoted using animated video abstracts received more attention, reach and impact on X than those promoted using author-provided video abstracts or title-only posts. Animated video abstracts can be used by authors to effectively promote their research findings and increase their visibility on social media.

Impact of implementing virtual journal club on developing competencies for critical appraisal among post-graduate nursing students

BACKGROUND

Virtual journal clubs (VJCs) are innovative technologies with the potential to foster collaboration, facilitate multilingual communication, improve cultural competencies, and expand global professional networks. This allowed participants to be exposed to critical appraisal of the articles. However, its long-term impact on competency development has been debated. This study aimed to investigate the impact of implementing VJCs on developing competencies for critical appraisal among postgraduate nursing students.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental (pretest/posttest one-group) research design was used with a convenience sample of 40 participants from the community health nursing department, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Egypt who agreed to participate. The participants received an online self-administered knowledge and attitude data collection tool through Google Forms. However, critical appraisal skills were evaluated by an observational checklist with a rubric through synchronized mode. Eleven VJC sessions were conducted for each participant. Descriptive analysis served as the primary method for analyzing participants' responses. Students' t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to measure differences between the pretest and post-test. The study also used a correlation test to assess the relationship of variables.

RESULTS

The findings indicated a highly statistically significant difference among the participants regarding knowledge, critical appraisal skills, and attitudes toward VJC before, immediately, and six months after VJC session implementation. In addition, a positive significant correlation with a highly statistically significant difference between the participants' total knowledge score levels, total practice score levels, and total attitude score levels in the immediate post and after six months of VJC session implementation (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The findings indicate this intervention has the potential to enhance critical appraisal competencies among postgraduate students. Therefore, VJCs should be included regularly to enhance critical appraisal competencies in academic settings for continued professional development.

#OrthoTwitter: Blending Information, Education, and Entertainment Online

BACKGROUND

Twitter has become a part of every medical field, including orthopaedics. #OrthoTwitter is the hashtag commonly used for orthopaedic-related tweets. Researchers have assessed the impact of Twitter in orthopaedics, but no study has evaluated the individual tweets under #OrthoTwitter. The purpose of the present study was to determine the nature of the content and interactions under #OrthoTwitter and to analyze the usefulness of #OrthoTwitter.

METHODS

After a pilot study, an analysis of #OrthoTwitter tweets was conducted from May 1, 2021, to June 30, 2021. Data were extracted in 2 stages. In Stage I, data were manually extracted at 8 p . m . IST (Indian Standard Time) on alternate days. In Stage II, data were collected using the web-scraping tool Octoparse. Data were analyzed on the basis of 3 characteristics-topic, purpose, and format of the tweet-with each characteristic comprising 10, 6, and 7 categories, respectively. An association analysis was performed using SPSS software.

RESULTS

One thousand and twenty-three tweets were analyzed. Five hundred and fifty-three (54%) of the 1,023 tweets were from orthopaedic surgeons and 123 (12%) were from orthopaedic residents. Medical students aspiring to be orthopaedic surgeons contributed 31 tweets (3%). #OrthoTwitter was also used by non-orthopaedic departments, most frequently radiology. Tweets that were educational or informative were the most common, as compared with tweets of other purposes. Two hundred and forty-six (24%) of the 1,023 tweets were educational (e.g., discussions of cases or journals) and 368 (36%) were informative (e.g., conference announcements and advertisements). Notable tweet subcategories included those related to COVID-19 (71 tweets; 7%), those of a motivational nature (41 tweets; 4%), and those containing some type of graphic content (644 tweets; 63%), for the topic, purpose, and format characteristics, respectively. We noted significantly more likes for tweets with an educational purpose (p = 0.017) and for tweets with images (p < 0.001). We also noted a significant number of retweets of educational tweets (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

#OrthoTwitter provides a unique environment in which education, news, collegial interaction, social responsibility, and entertainment thrive, making Twitter a virtual community. Tweets with an educational purpose and those that included images generated more interactions. Orthopaedic surgeons should consider using #OrthoTwitter in their orthopaedic-related tweets for a broader reach.

The nurses perceived educational values and experience of journal club activities - A cross-sectional study in Qatar

BACKGROUND

Journal club (JC) is widely used as an educational method to support nurses in up-to-date clinical practices, acquire critical appraisal skills, and promote evidence-based nursing practice. Traditionally, JC activities were conducted as face-to-face sessions. However, after the emergence of the pandemic, many educational activities including JC turn to the online platform. This study aims to assess the perceived educational value of JC and the experience of virtual journal club (VJC) among nurses.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional research design was used to gather the information from the nurses using the Nursing journal club perception scale. A purposive sampling method was used to enroll 450 participants from the JC attendees of various facilities between May andAugust 2022. The data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test.

RESULTS

The data from 450 participants were analyzed with a response rate of 40.1%. The majority of the participants were females (82.4%) and belonged to the 35-44 years' age group (39.6%). Mostly, the subjects were registered nurses or midwives (78%) and had more than 5 years of clinical experience (45.8%). The mean perceived educational value of JC and VJC was 62.9 ± 8.3 and 56.3 ± 8.9, respectively. The nurse educators are holding higher educational value of JC as compared to other participants including clinical nurses, charge nurses, head nurses, and director of nurses (P = 0.03). Additionally, 90% of participants strongly agreed that the nursing journal club helps them to disseminate and reinforce evidence-based practice, update their clinical knowledge, and was very informative. Furthermore, 80% of participants agreed that educational standards, social networking, and time allocation of the VJC are enhancing the chance of attending more sessions.

CONCLUSION

The JC has a vital role in preparing nurses for promoting research culture and practicing evidence-based nursing care. The national health strategies are focused on improving research capabilities and enhancing research within the national context. The implementation of evidence-based practice in healthcare involves enhancing formal research opportunities, promoting continuing education in research, developing skills in addressing research gaps, and enhancing research-oriented cultures in healthcare facilities. The nursing leadership can play a key role to support the initiatives to develop and conduct nursing JC in their facilities to improve the nurse's research skills and evidence-based nursing practice.

Marketing yourself in social media as a global health organization: lessons to be learned

PURPOSE

To evaluate whether X, formerly known as Twitter, is being used effectively to advance the goals of International Volunteers in Urology (IVUmed). How is X activity associated with end-user engagement?

METHODS

Monthly analytics of the X account @IVUmed were reviewed between September 2014 and November 2022 using https://analytics.twitter.com/ . Outcomes included tweets, mentions, impressions, engagements, interactions, followers, and profile visits. Statistical analysis using Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's rank-order correlation was performed. Top tweet content between December 2020 and November 2022 was also analyzed and assigned one of seven different categories: research, workshops, mission statement, educational materials, fundraising, individual spotlight, and other.

RESULTS

Of @IVUmed's 1668 followers, 1334 (80.0%) were individuals. One thousand one hundred twenty-six (84.4%) individuals listed their locations with the majority (79.8%) residing in high-income countries. Tweet impressions have increased over time; they were significantly higher (p < 0.01) on average after the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020. From December 2020 to November 2022, new followers were positively correlated with tweet impressions (p < 0.01), total mentions (p < 0.01), and profile visits (p < 0.01). Profile visits were positively correlated with total tweets (p < 0.01). The content categories for monthly top tweets that proportionally garnered the most engagements were workshops (50%) and individual spotlight (29%), despite not being the most tweeted about content categories.

CONCLUSION

Non-profit organizations wishing to increase their web-based outreach can benefit from increased primary X activity. While not evaluated in this study, it may also improve fundraising capabilities. Nevertheless, periodic review of account activity is important to ensure engagement of the targeted audience.

Do Articles Shared by Academic Medicine Social Media Influencers Drive Future Citation Rates?

OBJECTIVE

To assess the role of influential figures within social media (SoMe) in driving future citations.

METHODS

All original articles published in the Journal of Urology and European Urology in 2018 were identified. For each article, number of mentions on any SoMe platform, article's Twitter reach, and total citations were collected. Article characteristics such as type of study, article topic, and open access status were identified. Total academic research output was obtained for first and last authors of included articles. Influential SoMe figures were defined as users that tweeted about included articles and had over 2000 followers. For these accounts, we collected total followers, total tweets, engagement statistics, verification status, and academic characteristics such as total citations and total prior publications. The impact of SoMe, article, and academic characteristics on future citations was assessed using panel data regression analysis.

RESULTS

We identified 394 articles with 8895 total citations and 460 SoMe influencers. On panel data regression modeling, tweets about a specific article were associated with future citations (0.17 citations per tweet about an article, P < .001). SoMe influencer characteristics were not associated with increased citations (P > .05). The following non-SoMe-associated characteristics were predictive of future citations (P < .001): study type (prospective studies received 12.9 more citations than cross-sectional studies), open access status (4.3 citations more if open access, P < .001), and previously well-published first and last authors.

CONCLUSION

While SoMe posts are associated with increased visibility and higher future citation rates, SoMe influencers do not appear to drive these outcomes. Instead, high quality and accessibility were more predictive of future citability.

Promoting Publications Through Plastic Surgery Journal Instagram Accounts: Is It Worth It?

PURPOSE

Journals are increasingly using social media to increase article engagement. We aim to determine the impact of Instagram promotion on, and identify social media tools that effectively enhance, plastic surgery article engagement and impact.

METHODS

Instagram accounts for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Annals of Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery were reviewed for posts published by February 8, 2022. Open access journal articles were excluded. Post caption word count and number of likes, tagged accounts, and hashtags were recorded. Inclusion of videos, article links, or author introductions was noted. All articles from journal issues published between the dates of the first and last posts promoting articles were reviewed. Altmetric data approximated article engagement. Citation numbers from the National Institutes of Health iCite tool approximated impact. Differences in engagement and impact of articles with and without Instagram promotion were compared by Mann-Whitney U tests. Univariate and multivariable regressions identified factors predictive of more engagement (Altmetric Attention Score, ≥5) and citations (≥7).

RESULTS

A total of 5037 articles were included, with 675 (13.4%) promoted on Instagram. Of posts featuring articles, 274 (40.6%) included videos, 469 (69.5%) included article links, and 123 included (18.2%) author introductions. Promoted articles had higher median Altmetric Attention Scores and citations (P < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, using more hashtags predicted higher article Altmetric Attention Scores (odds ratio [OR], 1.85; P = 0.002) and more citations (OR, 1.90; P < 0.001). Including article links (OR, 3.52; P < 0.001) and tagging more accounts (OR, 1.64; P = 0.022) predicted higher Altmetric Attention Scores. Including author introductions negatively predicted Altmetric Attention Scores (OR, 0.46; P < 0.001) and citations (OR, 0.65; P = 0.047). Caption word count had no significant impact on article engagement or impact.

CONCLUSIONS

Instagram promotion increases plastic surgery article engagement and impact. Journals should use more hashtags, tag more accounts, and include manuscript links to increase article metrics. We recommend that authors promote on journal social media to maximize article reach, engagement, and citations, which positively impacts research productivity with minimal additional effort in designing Instagram content.

Student-Run Online Journal Club Initiative During a Time of Crisis: Survey Study

BACKGROUND

Since the closure of university campuses due to COVID-19 in spring 2020 necessitated a quick transition to online courses, medical students were isolated from hospitals and universities, negatively impacting their education. During this time, medical students had no opportunity to participate in academic discussions and were also socially isolated. Furthermore, medical doctors and professors of medical schools were given additional responsibilities during the pandemic because they were the frontliners in the fight against COVID-19. As a result, they did not have enough time to contribute effectively to medical student education.

OBJECTIVE

This paper describes the establishment of the Cerrahpasa Neuroscience Society Journal Clubs, a group of entirely student-run online journal clubs at Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa.

METHODS

The website, mass emailing, and social media accounts were used to announce the online journal clubs. Only medical students were eligible to apply. Journal clubs included psychiatry, neuroradiology, neurosurgery, neurology, and neuroscience. Following the last journal club meeting, a questionnaire created by the society's board was distributed to the participants. SPSS Statistics (version 26) was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Since March 15, 2021, synchronous online journal club meetings have been held every 2 weeks on a weekday using Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom. Meetings of each journal club lasted approximately 1 hour on average. Interstudent interaction across multiple institutions was achieved since a total of 45 students from 11 different universities attended the meetings on a regular basis. Students on the society's board served as academic mentors for the clubs. The clubs received excellent feedback from participants, with an overall contentment score of 4.32 out of 5.

CONCLUSIONS

By establishing these clubs, we have created a venue for academic discussions, which helps to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic on education. In addition, we believe it greatly aided students in staying in touch with their peers, thereby reducing the sense of isolation. We realize that traditional journal clubs are run by faculty; however, we believe that this experience demonstrated that medical students could run a journal club on their own since the feedback from participants was excellent. Additionally, as a medical student, being a journal club academic mentor is a challenging responsibility; however, having this responsibility significantly improved our academic mentors' leadership abilities.

Netiquette for social media engagement for oncology professionals

Social media growth has revolutionized health care, facilitating user-friendly, rapid and global sharing of content. Within oncology, this allows for new frontiers in communication for cancer patients, caregivers and healthcare providers. As more physicians engage in online spaces, it is imperative that there are resources to assist in establishing a professional presence on social media. This article describes how to create a social media identity, best practices for engaging both in patient and caregiver spaces and professional communities, and how to address antagonistic and inappropriate behavior on social media with the goal of helping physicians develop an engaging, productive and enjoyable experience online.

Areas of Interest and Attitudes Toward Antiobesity Drugs: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter

BACKGROUND

Antiobesity drugs are prescribed for the treatment of obesity in conjunction with healthy eating, physical activity, and behavior modification. However, poor adherence rates have been reported. Attitudes or beliefs toward medications are important to ascertain because they may be associated with patient behavior. The analysis of tweets has become a tool for health research.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to investigate the content and key metrics of tweets referring to antiobesity drugs.

METHODS

In this observational quantitative and qualitative study, we focused on tweets containing hashtags related to antiobesity drugs between September 20, 2019, and October 31, 2019. Tweets were first classified according to whether they described medical issues or not. Tweets with medical content were classified according to the topic they referred to: side effects, efficacy, or adherence. We additionally rated it as positive or negative. Furthermore, we classified any links included within a tweet as either scientific or nonscientific. Finally, the number of retweets generated as well as the dissemination and sentiment score obtained by the antiobesity drugs analyzed were also measured.

RESULTS

We analyzed a total of 2045 tweets, 945 of which were excluded according to the criteria of the study. Finally, 320 out of the 1,100 remaining tweets were also excluded because their content, although related to drugs for obesity treatment, did not address the efficacy, side effects, or adherence to medication. Liraglutide and semaglutide accumulated the majority of tweets (682/780, 87.4%). Notably, the content that generated the highest frequency of tweets was related to treatment efficacy, with liraglutide-, semaglutide-, and lorcaserin-related tweets accumulating the highest proportion of positive consideration. We found the highest percentages of tweets with scientific links in those posts related to liraglutide and semaglutide. Semaglutide-related tweets obtained the highest probability of likes and were the most disseminated within the Twitter community.

CONCLUSIONS

This analysis of posted tweets related to antiobesity drugs shows that the interest, beliefs, and experiences regarding these pharmacological treatments are heterogeneous. The efficacy of the treatment accounts for the majority of interest among Twitter users.

Association Between Twitter Mentions and Academic Citations in Otolaryngology Literature

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relationship between Twitter mentions and academic citations in otolaryngology literature.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

SETTING

Altmetric Twitter mention and Google Scholar citation rosters.

METHODS

Original research articles from 10 leading otolaryngology journals were assessed 26 months after print publication. Article Twitter mentions were tracked through the Altmetric Bookmarklet, and article citation data were determined through the Google Scholar search engine. Twitter mentions and citation metrics of articles were compared through 2-tailed t test analysis (P < .05).

RESULTS

Of all articles, 50.7% (152/300) had at least 1 Twitter mention. Of all article Twitter mentions, 25% (432/1758) happened within the first week of online publication dates, while 64% (1130/1758) occurred between online and print publication dates. Articles mentioned on Twitter had 1.6-fold more Google Scholar citations (8.6 ± 0.7, mean ± SD) than articles with no Twitter mentions (5.4 ± 0.4, P < .01). A total of 8% (24/300) of publications were tweeted by their authors. Articles self-tweeted by authors were associated with an 8.4-citation increase (14.8 ± 3.1) for Google Scholar when compared with articles not shared by their authors on Twitter (6.4 ± 0.4; 2.3-fold increase, P < .01).

CONCLUSION

Most otolaryngology articles are disseminated over Twitter, with greatest Twitter activity occurring before print publication date of articles. Citations within 2 years of release are positively associated with the number of mentions on Twitter. Article Twitter mentions may augment the academic influence of otolaryngology publications.

BMUS journal club on Twitter: An analysis of the first #BMUS_JC discussions

INTRODUCTION

Journal clubs have evolved over recent years within healthcare to encourage continuing professional development. More recently, there has been a move from face-to-face group meetings to virtual groups utilising social media platforms. This article aims to explore the discussions and narrative following the inaugural BMUS journal club, highlighting the key discussions and themes from the participants and to provide a narrative for the future of ultrasound continuing professional development.

METHODS

The August 2020 journal club chat was focussed on the article featured in Ultrasound: "Sonographers' level of autonomy in communication in Australian obstetric settings: Does it affect their professional identity?" by Thomas et al. Data consisting of Twitter correspondence were extracted and analysed from the advanced search function on Twitter using #BMUS_JC thread. An initial review ensured related content was included. A second review and semantic thematic analysis was then conducted on the 123 tweets.

RESULTS

In total, seven overall themes were identified between the three sub-threads within the journal club discussions. Those participating in the Twitter discussion recognised the limitations and barriers for communicating results to patients, acknowledging that training, support and regulatory involvement is required for sonographers to change practice locally and internationally.

CONCLUSION

The group discussions on Twitter highlight the ongoing issues for sonographers' professional identity worldwide. Furthermore, our analysis echo other contemporary studies which indicate that Twitter journal clubs act as a fruitful and dynamic source of continuing professional development, particularly in an era where social distancing is encouraged. The outcomes of the first BMUS journal club support the wider evidence that online journal clubs can provide a successful platform for professional discussion and debate.

The Use of Twitter by Medical Journals: Systematic Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND

Medical journals use Twitter to engage and disseminate their research articles and implement a range of strategies to maximize reach and impact.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to systematically review the literature to synthesize and describe the different Twitter strategies used by medical journals and their effectiveness on journal impact and readership metrics.

METHODS

A systematic search of the literature before February 2020 in four electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect) was conducted. Articles were reviewed using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines.

RESULTS

The search identified 44 original research studies that evaluated Twitter strategies implemented by medical journals and analyzed the relationship between Twitter metrics and alternative and citation-based metrics. The key findings suggest that promoting publications on Twitter improves citation-based and alternative metrics for academic medical journals. Moreover, implementing different Twitter strategies maximizes the amount of attention that publications and journals receive. The four key Twitter strategies implemented by many medical journals are tweeting the title and link of the article, infographics, podcasts, and hosting monthly internet-based journal clubs. Each strategy was successful in promoting the publications. However, different metrics were used to measure success.

CONCLUSIONS

Four key Twitter strategies are implemented by medical journals: tweeting the title and link of the article, infographics, podcasts, and hosting monthly internet-based journal clubs. In this review, each strategy was successful in promoting publications but used different metrics to measure success. Thus, it is difficult to conclude which strategy is most effective. In addition, the four strategies have different costs and effects on dissemination and readership. We recommend that journals and researchers incorporate a combination of Twitter strategies to maximize research impact and capture audiences with a variety of learning methods.

Correlation between Twitter mentions and academic citations in sexual medicine journals

Social media services, especially Twitter, are used as a commonly sharing tool in the scientific world. This widespread use of Twitter would be an effective method in spreading academic publications. So, we aimed to investigate the relationship between Twitter mentions and traditional citations of articles in sexual medicine journals in this study. We reviewed the articles published in seven journals of sexual medicine (2 years after the publication of the articles) between January 2018 and June 2018. In the first half of 2018, 410 articles were extracted. Of these, 352 (85.9%) were original articles, while 58 (14.1%) were review articles. The median number of citations of the articles mentioned at least once on Twitter was 7 (interquartile range: 0-111) for Google Scholar, whereas it was 0 (interquartile range: 0-63) for Scopus, respectively. It was 4 (interquartile range: 0-25) for Google Scholar and 0 (interquartile range: 0-7) for Scopus. The publications mentioned on Twitter were cited more than the non-mentioned publications in the traditional-based citation system (p < 0.001). A significant relationship between the citation numbers and tweet numbers was also observed (p < 0.001). Also, in the linear regression model, the tweet numbers (p < 0.001) and article types (p < 0.001) were found to be related to the Google Scholar citation numbers. In conclusion, using Twitter as a professional tool in academic life would allow information to be propagated and responded quickly, especially for sexual medicine journals.

Findings from an OMFS journal club: is COVID-19 the catalyst we have needed to embrace technology?

The COVID-19 outbreak has rapidly progressed into a worldwide pandemic, and the need for social distancing has changed the way we learn and work. Our monthly OMFS journal club has been no different, and is currently meeting on the video conferencing application Microsoft Teams. The use of a virtual setting for training in medicine and dentistry is not new and, as in the case of our recent move to a virtual medium, it may be that COVID-19 has fast-tracked this digital transformation. There are of course disadvantages to online teaching that traditional face-to-face teaching overcomes. We conducted a survey to examine how trainees' attitudes and experiences have altered with this change, and to understand whether some elements of this new style of training may be advantageous in the post-pandemic world. We aimed to assess trainees' attitudes towards online teaching, and which elements, if any, would be beneficial once face-to-face teaching becomes possible again. A survey was created for all trainees taking part in journal club meetings at Bradford Teaching Hospitals. Multiple-choice and Likert scale questions were designed to ascertain the differences in experience between online and face-to-face settings. A Wilcoxon matched pairs signed test was used to analyse the results. Responses were kept anonymous. Results showed that the majority of trainees found it easier to attend the online journal club, and also indicated that the most found Microsoft Teams easy to use, though we did not have another online application for comparison. There was no significant difference in participation comfort between the two settings, though trainees felt that the online setting considerably improved learning effectiveness. Furthermore, 79% (11/14) thought that online tutorials and meetings should replace traditional face-to-face meetings in the future. The use of internet technology such as video conferencing is not new, and although journal clubs are typically held in academic institutions, online and virtual clubs are flourishing. With an array of advantages, there is no shying away from the trend to move our teaching to a virtual medium. COVID-19 may have just provided the stimulus that has forced this transformation to accelerate.

Journal club: old tricks and fresh approaches

Journal club is a long-standing pedagogy within clinical practice and education. While journal clubs throughout the world traditionally follow an established format, new approaches have emerged in recent times, including learner-centred and digital approaches. Key factors to journal club success include an awareness of the learning goals of the target audience, judicious article selection and emphasis on promoting the engagement of participant learners. This article reviews the role that journal club plays in modern clinical education and considers how to optimise its benefit for contemporary learners.

How to Use Social Media in Urologic Practice

Social media has become increasingly important in urologic practice. This consultation guide provides a framework for urologists who want to increase their presence on social media and maximize its benefits.

Early Online Attention Can Predict Citation Counts for Urological Publications: The #UroSoMe_Score

BACKGROUND

The scientific impact of published articles has traditionally been measured as citation counts. However, there has been a shift in academia to a digitalized age in which research is widely read, disseminated, and discussed online. As part of this shift, each published article has a digital footprint.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a urology social media score (#UroSoMe_Score) to predict citation counts from measures of online attention for urological articles.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

We included articles published between June 2016 and June 2017 in the top ten highest-impact urology journals. We obtained data on the online attention received by each of these articles from Altmetric Explorer and 2-yr citation counts from Scopus.

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

We created a multivariable linear model using the forward stepwise regression method based on the Akaike information criterion to determine the best-fitting model using online sources of attention to predict 2-yr citation count.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

We included a total of 2033 urology articles. The median weighted Altmetric score for the articles included was 4 (interquartile range [IQR] 2-11). The median number of citations for all articles included was 7 (IQR 3-14). There was an association between Altmetric score and 2-yr Scopus citation count (p < 0.001) but the adjusted R2 value for this model was only 0.013. Our stepwise regression model revealed that citations could be predicted from a model comprising the following sources of online attention: policy documents, Google+, blogs, videos, Wikipedia, Twitter, and Q&A. The adjusted R2 value for the #UroSoMe_Score model was 0.14, which is superior to the full Altmetric score.

CONCLUSIONS

The #UroSoMe_Score can be used to predict 2-yr citation counts for urological publications on the basis of online metrics.

PATIENT SUMMARY

Online measures of attention can be used to predict citation counts and thus the scientific impact of an article. Our #UroSoMe_Score can be used in such a manner specifically for the urological literature. Outliers may still be present especially for popular topics that receive online attention but are not heavily cited.

A Prospective Review of a Novel Electronic Journal Club Format in an Orthopedic Residency Unit

INTRODUCTION

Journal clubs are useful for teaching critical appraisal skills and maintaining contemporary knowledge in orthopedics. The didactic format is most common; however, work commitments can pose difficulty in full attendance. Also with the current legislative working time restrictions for residents in Europe and North America, work and training time require separation with times that may not suit all attendees. Online forums such as "Twitter" have recently been used to accommodate various journal clubs. We aimed to establish a journal club using smartphone messaging application "WhatsApp" to discuss key orthopedic papers and teach critical appraisal skills to residents.

DESIGN

A prospective cohort study including all residents and attendings in the department. A research practice questionnaire, the "Evidence-based Practice Questionnaire" and a 28-question MCQ on research methods from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons resident question database was completed by all participants prior to the study. A paper was uploaded each Friday, and discussed the following Tuesday through Friday for 6 consecutive weeks. The original questionnaire and MCQs were again completed after the 6-week study period.

SETTING

A Trauma & Orthopedic residency unit.

PARTICIPANTS

All orthopedic residents, from PGY1-4 and attendings.

RESULTS

An average of 22 questions were asked (min 13, max 28), and 55 responses per week (min 30, max 88). In the EBPQ questionnaire, an example question of "how often you critically appraised a paper you have discovered" improved from an average score of 2.45 to 5.4. Self-rating of research skills improved from a score of 3.27 to 5.9. MCQ scores improved from an average of 48.2% among the group to 69%.

CONCLUSIONS

Residents' critical appraisal skills were improved while providing adequate time and flexibility to reflect on questions. Subspecialty topic discussions led by attendings, stimulated discussion of clinical pearls of interest to all participants. The simplicity of this method, and its widespread availability potentiates the implementation by any specialty looking to educate its residents.

Live videos shared on social media during urological conferences are increasing: Time to reflect on advantages and potential harms. An ESUT-YAU study

INTRODUCTION

Social Media (SoMe) offers excellent opportunities for scientific knowledge dissemination and its use has been extended in urology. However, there is controversy about its use. Live videos shared trough SoMe platforms offer many advantages, but at the same time disadvantages and potential risks including confidentiality, copyright infringement, among others. We aimed to assess the activity of shared videos on SoMe during urological conferences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A comprehensive study of videos shared on SoMe during European Association of Urology congress was carried out from January 2016 to June 2018. The online tools Symplur (Symplur.com), Twitter, Periscope and YouTube were searched to collect data. Number of videos, transmission time and views were analyzed. Videos were classified as live or pre-recorded and as scientific or non-scientific. SPSS V22.0 was used to process data.

RESULTS

We identified 108 videos shared on SoMe, 292.42minutes of transmission, 67732 views. 79 of 108 (73%) were live streaming videos, 78 (72%) of which were considered scientific vs. 30 (28%) non-scientific. An increase was observed trough the years of study (2016-2018) in transmission time (p=.031) number of videos, views (p=.018) and live videos (p=.019) during the annual congress of the European Association of Urology.

CONCLUSIONS

Shared videos on SoMe from urological conferences are increasing. These provide advantages for communication, scientific dissemination and expand the scope of conferences. However, there is potential risk of sharing information in real time; that could not be in line with the recommendations for appropriate use of social networks.

The Use of Social Media in Pediatric Urology-Forging New Paths or Crossing Boundaries?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

There has been a remarkable change in how people connect, access, and share professional and medical information over social media. This perspective article describes opportunities, potential pitfalls, and guidelines for social media use by pediatric urology providers.

RECENT FINDINGS

Pediatric urologists have effectively used social media to connect and share expertise, augment scientific conference participation, promote themselves and their research, disseminate guidelines and best practices, participate in virtual journal clubs, and engage with patients and their families. Information shared over social media is not protected by copyright law, not confidential, not regulated, permanent, and subjected to public domain and scrutiny. Despite these potential pitfalls, social media is a useful tool if best practices are observed and online communication adheres to professional guidelines and organizational policy. Social media use in healthcare is here to stay and pediatric urologists have online visibility whether or not they choose to actively participate. Despite new legal, ethical, and professional considerations that social media introduces, a well-executed social media presence provides pediatric urologists a wealth of new opportunities for networking, research, and disseminating high-quality medical information online.

Resuscitation Education Science: Educational Strategies to Improve Outcomes From Cardiac Arrest: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

The formula for survival in resuscitation describes educational efficiency and local implementation as key determinants in survival after cardiac arrest. Current educational offerings in the form of standardized online and face-to-face courses are falling short, with providers demonstrating a decay of skills over time. This translates to suboptimal clinical care and poor survival outcomes from cardiac arrest. In many institutions, guidelines taught in courses are not thoughtfully implemented in the clinical environment. A current synthesis of the evidence supporting best educational and knowledge translation strategies in resuscitation is lacking. In this American Heart Association scientific statement, we provide a review of the literature describing key elements of educational efficiency and local implementation, including mastery learning and deliberate practice, spaced practice, contextual learning, feedback and debriefing, assessment, innovative educational strategies, faculty development, and knowledge translation and implementation. For each topic, we provide suggestions for improving provider performance that may ultimately optimize patient outcomes from cardiac arrest.

An international instant-messaging journal club: a modern, fun and global approach to a traditional teaching tool

The aim of this study was to introduce a modern, engaging and easily accessible approach to medical education. A virtual journal club (VJC) was established for the orthopaedic trainees of Ethiopia using instant messaging via Viber. Group discussions included research articles, case reports and radiographs. In addition, senior participants posed quiz questions, with a leaderboard for best performance. Finally, a satisfaction survey was conducted using Google Forms. We have accumulated data from the first five months of educational activity with 73 participants. Seven articles were analysed and debated, covering a broad range of orthopaedic topics, with 56 messages per article on average and 60 quiz questions overall. Our survey received 20 responses, where 95% perceived the VJC as superior to the traditional journal club. Instant messaging is recommended as an educational tool, utilised as an effective VJC. It provides continuous interactive distance learning, without the restrictions of traditional methods.

Association Between Twitter Reception at a National Urology Conference and Future Publication Status

BACKGROUND

Social media is an increasingly popular means to disseminate medical research. However, it is unknown whether the extent to which content is shared mirrors conventional measures of scientific merit or impact.

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether Twitter activity (as measured by the number of "likes" and "retweets" [RTs]) relating to original research presented at a national urology meeting was associated with subsequent publication status and journal impact factor (IF).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

We retrospectively reviewed Twitter data obtained through the Keyhole archiving platform using the hashtag "#aua15" from May 1 through June 1, 2015 reflecting the hashtag of the American Urological Association (AUA) meeting.

OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

We analyzed all posts containing keywords related to research studies. Among posts reporting on newly presented studies with discernable attribution, we evaluated subsequent publication status within 45 mo, including journal IF. We compared social media reception (number of likes/RTs) by publication status, and assessed the relationship between social media reception and subsequent journal IF using Pearson's correlation.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

A total of 15 303 posts were associated with #aua15 between May 1 and June 1, 2015, which reached 2 263 438 users. The median number of likes/RTs was 2 (interquartile range 1-3). We analyzed all posts receiving at least one like/RT (n = 2964) for text content related to research and identified 496 associated with new scientific studies presented at the meeting. Forty-five months following the AUA meeting, 96 studies were identifiable on PubMed (19.4%). Research with more likes/RTs at the AUA meeting were more likely to be subsequently published (p = 0.001). Among published studies, there was a modest, positive correlation between the number of likes/RTs and publication journal IF (r² = 0.36).

CONCLUSIONS

Measures of social media engagement with data presented at a national medical meeting were positively correlated with subsequent publication and journal IF after presentation.

PATIENT SUMMARY

New urological research that was shared more often at a national meeting was more likely to be published in journals that are more highly cited.

The use of Twitter to facilitate sharing of clinical expertise in urology

The use of social media in the urologic community is common and increasing. Although the potential benefits of platforms like Twitter have been described in the literature, the use of social media in the clinical context of Urology has not been explored.In this case report, we describe how we used Twitter to share ideas about the clinical management of a complex urologic patient. By posting a clinical scenario, a timely discussion was generated with global participation and expert suggestions. This knowledge was applied to the surgical management of a patient with positive clinical outcomes.The ability of Twitter to facilitate rapid communication with a wide network of contributors makes it a potentially useful tool for clinical decision making. Care must be taken to ensure patient confidentiality and caution used appropriately when evaluating the sources and content of the clinical information shared.

Social Media and Allergy

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Social media services dominate online consumption of information and play an ever expanding role in our lives. They are not only used to connect with friends and family but also to educate and recruit colleagues and patients, and to stay up-to-date with the new developments in the field of allergy and immunology.

RECENT FINDINGS

There are known risks to social media user by health care professionals mostly related to breaches of patient confidentiality, professionalism, and privacy. Malpractice and liability risks have been linked to irresponsible use of social media. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current social media tools in allergy. We recommend a pragmatic approach to maximize social media tools for the allergy practice.

Social Media in Surgical Training: Opportunities and Risks

BACKGROUND

Surgeon engagement with social media is growing rapidly. Innovative applications in diverse fields of health care are increasingly available.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this review is to explore the current and future applications of social media in surgical training. In addition, risks and barriers of social media engagement are analyzed, and recommendations for professional social media use amongst trainers and trainees are suggested.

METHODS

The published, peer-reviewed literature on social media in medicine, surgery and surgical training was reviewed. MESH terms including "social media", "education", "surgical training" and "web applications" were used.

RESULTS

Different social media surgical applications are already widely available but limited in use in the trainee's curriculum. E-learning modalities, podcasts, live surgery platforms and microblogs are used for teaching purposes. Social media enables global research collaboratives and can play a role in patient recruitment for clinical trials. The growing importance of networking is emphasized by the increased use of LinkedIn, Facebook, Sermo and other networking platforms. Risks of social media use, such as lack of peer review and the lack of source confirmation, must be considered. Governing surgeon's and trainee's associations should consider adopting and sharing their guidelines for standards of social media use.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical training is changing rapidly and as such, social media presents tremendous opportunities for teaching, training, research and networking. Awareness must be raised on the risks of social media use.

The Adoption of an Online Journal Club to Improve Research Dissemination and Social Media Engagement Among Hospitalists

BACKGROUND

Twitter-based journal clubs are intended to connect clinicians, educators, and researchers to discuss recent research and aid in dissemination of results. The Journal of Hospital Medicine (JHM) began producing a Twitter-based journal club, #JHMChat, in 2015.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the implementation and assess the impact of a journal-sponsored, Twitter-based journal club on Twitter and journal metrics.

INTERVENTION

Each #JHMChat focused on a recently published JHM article, was moderated by a social media editor, and included one study author or guest.

MEASUREMENTS

The total number of participants, tweets, tweets/participant, impressions, page views, and change in the Altmetric score were assessed after each session. Thematic analysis of each article was conducted, and post-chat surveys of participating authors and participant responses to continuing medical education surveys were reviewed.

RESULTS

Seventeen Twitter-based chats were held: seven (47%) focused on value, six (40%) targeted clinical issues, and four (27%) focused on education. On average, we found 2.17 (±0.583 SD) million impressions/session, 499 (± 129 SD) total tweets/session, and 73 (±24 SD) participants/session. Value-based care articles had the greatest number of impressions (2.61 ± 0.55 million) and participants (90 ± 12). The mean increase in the Altmetric score was 14 points (±12), with medical education-themed articles garnering the greatest change (mean increase of 32). Page views were noted to have increased similarly to levels of electronic Table of Content releases. Authors and participants believed #JHMChat was a valuable experience and rated it highly on post-chat evaluations.

CONCLUSIONS

Online journal clubs appear to increase awareness and uptake of journal article results and are considered a useful tool by participants.

Role of Technology in Antimicrobial Stewardship

Because of the increasing plague of antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic misuse, antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are now a mandatory entity in all US hospitals. ASPs can use technological advances, such as the electronic medical record and clinical decision support systems, to impact a larger patient population with more efficiency. Additionally, through the use of mobile applications and social media, ASPs can highlight and propagate educational information regarding antimicrobial utilization to patients and providers in a widespread and timely manner. In this article, the authors describe how technology can play an important role in antimicrobial stewardship.

The Role of Social Media and Internet Search Engines in Information Provision and Dissemination to Patients with Kidney Stone Disease: A Systematic Review from European Association of Urologists Young Academic Urologists

INTRODUCTION

Kidney stone disease (KSD) affects millions of people worldwide and has an increasing incidence. Social media (SoMe) and search engines are both gaining in usage, while also being used by patients to research their conditions and aid in managing them. With this in mind, many authors have expressed the belief that SoMe and search engines can be used by patients and healthcare professionals to improve treatment compliance and help counseling and management of conditions such as KSD. We wanted to determine whether SoMe and search engines play a role in the management and/or prevention of KSD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The databases MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were used to search for relevant English language literature from inception to December 2017. Results were screened by title, abstract, and then full text, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were then analyzed independently by the authors not involved in the original study.

RESULTS

After initial identification of 2137 records and screening of 42 articles, 10 studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The articles included focused on a variety of SoMe forms, including two articles each on twitter, YouTube, smartphone apps, and Google search engine and one article on Google insights and Google analytics. Regarding patient centered advice, while two articles covered advice on dietary, fluid intake, and management options, two additional articles each covered advice on fluid advice and management options only, while no such advice was given by three of the SoMe published articles.

CONCLUSIONS

SoMe and search engines provide valuable information to patients with KSD. However, while the information provided regarding dietary aspects and fluid management was good, it was not comprehensive enough to include advice on other aspects of KSD prevention.

The Virtual Toxicology Journal Club: the Dissemination and Discussion of Noteworthy Manuscripts Using Twitter

BACKGROUND

Twitter-based chat groups (tweetchats) structured as virtual journal clubs have been demonstrated to provide value to learners. In order to promote topics in medical toxicology, we developed the #firesidetox tweetchat as a virtual journal club to discuss and disseminate topics in medical toxicology.

METHODS

A group of medical toxicologists from the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) Public Affairs Committee and editorial board of the Journal of Medical Toxicology (JMT) developed a quarterly one hour tweetchat featuring JMT manuscripts. We gathered basic twittergraphics and used a healthcare hashtag aggregator to measure the number of impressions, participants, and tweets per tweetchat session. A qualitative analysis of important themes from #firesidetox was also completed.

RESULTS

During five tweetchats over 12 months, we attracted a mean of 23 participants generating a mean of 150 tweets per #firesidetox tweetchat. Tweets generated a mean of 329,200 impressions (unique user views): these impressions grew by 300% from the first through fifth #firesidetox. The majority of participants self-identified as medical toxicologists or physician learners. Although most were from the USA, participants also came from Australia, Poland, and Qatar. Most tweets centered on medical education and 7.9% tweets were learner-driven or questions asking for a medical toxicologist expert opinion.

CONCLUSION

The #firesidetox attracted a diverse group of toxicologists, learners, and members of the public in a virtual journal club setting. The increasing number of impressions, participants, and tweets during #firesidetox demonstrates the tweetchat model to discuss pertinent toxicology topics is feasible and well received among its participants.

Journal Club in Residency Education: An Evidence-based Guide to Best Practices from the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors

Journal clubs are an important tool for critically appraising articles and keeping up-to-date with the current literature. This paper provides a critical review of the literature on the design and structure of journal clubs in residency education with a focus on preparation, topic selection, implementation, and integration of technology. Recommendations for preparation include developing clearly defined goals and objectives that are agreed upon by all journal club participants; mentorship from experienced faculty members to ensure appropriate article selection, maintenance of structure, and applicability to objectives; distribution of articles to participants 1–2 weeks prior to the scheduled session with reminders to read the articles at predetermined intervals; and the use of a structured critical appraisal tool for evaluating the articles. Recommendations for topic selection include selecting a primary objective of either critical appraisal or informing clinical practice and ensuring that the articles align with the objective; involving learners in the topic- and article-selection process; and having the article selection driven by a specific clinical question. Recommendations for implementation include hosting sessions in the evening and away from the hospital environment; providing food to participants; hosting meetings on a monthly basis at regularly scheduled intervals; mandating journal club attendance; and using theories of adult learning. Recommendations for integration of technology include using previously established, effective strategies and determining the feasibility of creating an online journal club versus joining an established journal club. It is the authors’ intention that after reading this paper readers will have new strategies and techniques for implementing and running a journal club at their home institutions.

Older and wiser? Changes in unprofessional content on urologists' social media after transition from residency to practice

OBJECTIVE

To characterize changes in the frequency and nature of unprofessional content on urologists' Facebook accounts during the transition from residency to practice.

METHODS

Facebook was queried with the names of all 2015 US urology graduates 1 year after completion of residency. We identified unprofessional and potentially objectionable content on the public Facebook accounts using a rubric based on professionalism guidelines by the American Urological Association, the American Medical Association and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Comparisons of unprofessional content were made with data from this cohort collected at the completion of residency. To assess how professional identities were reflected on social media, we determined which urologists self-identified as a urologist on Facebook and any changes in their unprofessional content.

RESULTS

Of 281 urologists, 198 (70%) had publicly identifiable Facebook accounts. Of these, 85 (43%) contained any unprofessional or potentially objectionable content, including 35 (18%) with explicitly unprofessional content. Examples included images of and references to intoxication, explicit profanity, and offensive comments about patients. Of the 201 Facebook accounts that had been publicly identifiable at the completion of residency, most profiles (182, 91%) had remained public; of the 19 that were no longer public, about half had previously contained unprofessional content. Similarly, of the 80 urologists without public profiles 1 year previously, most (64, 80%) had remained unidentifiable on Facebook; of the 16 accounts that had since become publicly identifiable, half had unprofessional content. Among the urologists on Facebook overall, 11 (6%) had posted new unprofessional or potentially objectionable content since entering practice. Comparing this cohort in practice vs at the completion of residency, there were no significant differences in how many urologists had public Facebook accounts (70% vs 71%) or whose accounts had concerning content (43% vs 40%). The presence of unprofessional content at the completion of residency strongly predicted having unprofessional content later in practice. More urologists overall self-identified as being a urologist on Facebook, and a larger proportion of these profiles also displayed unprofessional content (53% vs 47% 1 year previously).

CONCLUSION

Most urologists maintained public Facebook accounts after the transition to practice, and about half of these contained unprofessional or potentially objectionable content. Amidst their increasing self-identification as urologists on social media, the majority of practising urologists had posted concerning content, which could have an impact on their professional identities and public perceptions of the specialty.

Professional Use of Social Media Among Surgeons: Results of a Multi-Institutional Study

OBJECTIVE

Among surgeons, professional use of social media (SM) is varied, and attitudes are ambiguous. We sought to characterize surgeons' professional use and perceptions of SM.

DESIGN

Surgical faculty and trainees received institutional review board-approved e-mail surveys assessing SM usage and attitudes. Regression analyses identified predictors of SM attitudes and preference for professional contact.

SETTING

Surveys were administered to surgical faculty, fellows, and residents at 4 academic medical centers between January and April 2016.

PARTICIPANTS

Of 1037 surgeons, clinical fellows, and residents e-mailed, 208 (20%) responded, including 132 faculty and 76 trainees.

RESULTS

Among 208 respondents, 46 (22%) indicated they preferred some form of SM as their preferred networking and communication modality. A total of 145 (70%) indicated they believe SM benefits professional development. The position of clinical resident predicted preference to maintain professional contact via SM (p = 0.03). Age <55 predicted positive attitude (p = 0.02) and rank of associate professor predicted negative attitude toward SM (p = 0.03). Lack of time as well as personal and patient privacy concerns were cited most commonly as reasons for not using SM.

CONCLUSIONS

Most of surgeons responding to our survey used some form of SM for professional purposes. Perceived barriers include lack of value, time constraints, and personal and patient privacy concerns. Generational differences in surgeon attitudes suggest usage of SM among surgeons will expand over time.

Communicating your research (part 2): to the wider community

Dissemination of research findings via digital tools and research engagement activities is rapidly becoming accepted practice for reaching a wider audience. In addition, they offer the opportunity for finding collaborative research partners, networking with peers, and informing funders, clinical practitioners and policy makers. However, exposure should extend beyond a scientific audience and should incorporate the general public, patients and their families, enabling them to be involved with research, facilitating the potential impacts of research to be realised.

Level of evidence: Not applicable for an opinion piece.

A new wave of urologists? Graduating urology residents' practices of and attitudes toward social media

INTRODUCTION

Social media (SoMe) have revolutionized healthcare, but physicians remain hesitant to adopt SoMe in their practices. We sought to assess graduating urology residents' practices of and attitudes toward SoMe.

METHODS

A close-ended questionnaire, employing five-point Likert scales, was distributed to all final-year residents (n=100) in Canadian urology training programs in 2012, 2014, and 2016 to assess SoMe usage and perceived usefulness.

RESULTS

All (100%) questionnaires were completed. Respondents frequently used online services for personal (100%) and professional (96%) purposes. Most (92%) used SoMe. Many (73%) frequently used SoMe for personal purposes, but few (12%) frequently used SoMe for professional purposes. While a majority (59%) opposed direct patient interaction online, most supported using SoMe to provide patients with static information (76%) and collaborate with colleagues (65%). Many (70-73%) were optimistic that novel solutions to privacy issues in online communications will arise, making SoMe and email contact with patients conceivable. Few (2-8%) were aware and had read guidelines and legislations regarding physician online practices; however, awareness of medical associations' and institutional SoMe policies significantly increased over time (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite their active online use, graduating urology residents rarely used SoMe in professional settings and were wary of using it in patient care. Nevertheless, they were optimistic toward its integration in urology and supported its use in physician-physician communication. Considering SoMe's increased influence on urology and graduating residents' limited awareness of guidelines and legislations, postgraduate medical educators should encourage residents to become more familiar with current online communication recommendations.

Evidence appraisal: a scoping review, conceptual framework, and research agenda

Objective

Critical appraisal of clinical evidence promises to help prevent, detect, and address flaws related to study importance, ethics, validity, applicability, and reporting. These research issues are of growing concern. The purpose of this scoping review is to survey the current literature on evidence appraisal to develop a conceptual framework and an informatics research agenda.

Methods

We conducted an iterative literature search of Medline for discussion or research on the critical appraisal of clinical evidence. After title and abstract review, 121 articles were included in the analysis. We performed qualitative thematic analysis to describe the evidence appraisal architecture and its issues and opportunities. From this analysis, we derived a conceptual framework and an informatics research agenda.

Results

We identified 68 themes in 10 categories. This analysis revealed that the practice of evidence appraisal is quite common but is rarely subjected to documentation, organization, validation, integration, or uptake. This is related to underdeveloped tools, scant incentives, and insufficient acquisition of appraisal data and transformation of the data into usable knowledge.

Discussion

The gaps in acquiring appraisal data, transforming the data into actionable information and knowledge, and ensuring its dissemination and adoption can be addressed with proven informatics approaches.

Conclusions

Evidence appraisal faces several challenges, but implementing an informatics research agenda would likely help realize the potential of evidence appraisal for improving the rigor and value of clinical evidence.