Evolving role of Instagram in #medicine

Endoscopic Spine Surgery on Instagram: Analysis of Content and Engagement

Introduction Social media platforms have changed the way society communicates and collaborates. Prior research in healthcare discusses how social media can empower patients, dispel health-related misinformation, and help maintain a patient-centered practice. The goal of this study was to evaluate the use of #endoscopicspinesurgery on Instagram and create a blueprint for creating engaging posts on the social media platform. Methodology Public Instagram posts (n = 171) that utilized #endoscopicspinesurgery were collected over three months in 2022. Each post was assessed for photo and caption content, likes, comments, number of followers, and hashtag information. Engagement rates were calculated for each post to assess the active interaction of post characteristics and content. Results The majority of posts were published by medical professionals (72/171, 42.1%) and industry-related user accounts (55/171, 32.2%). Content related to training, conferences, and the operating room garnered the highest average engagement. Post characteristics (number of hashtags and number of post photos) were significantly associated with engagement. Conclusions Results highlighted general trends in creating engaging social media posts, such as using hashtags intentionally to increase searchability and visibility, having higher numbers of photos in a post and using high-quality photos, and understanding the dynamic social media algorithms that may affect post viewership. When structuring social media posts, users should be aware of the audience they want to attract and construct their content accordingly.

A Social Media Blueprint - Understanding What Makes the Optimal Social Media Account for Paediatric Surgical Families

BACKGROUND

Social media is one of the most common sources of information for parents seeking information on their child's health. The purpose of this study was to better understand the social media habits of parents of paediatric surgery patients through surveys and focus groups.

METHODS

An online survey was distributed to parents visiting paediatric surgery clinics at a tertiary care hospital. Surveys were distributed via QR code and social media. Two virtual focus groups were conducted with parents of paediatric patients. Descriptive statistics were used for survey analysis and focus group transcripts were thematically analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 107 respondents completed the online survey. Median age of respondents was 36 (interquartile range: 32-41). 81.3% of the respondents were female. Facebook was the preferred social media platform (47.2%), followed by Instagram (41.5%) then other platforms (4.7%). Respondents indicated that their preferred length of video was 30 s (41.2%). When asked which type of video content they prefer, participants indicated animated video as most popular (66.0%) followed by a physician speaking (60.0%), and slides with voiceover (45.0%). The focus groups revealed themes of: (1) functionality and content; (2) branding, aesthetic and legitimacy; (3) unmasking of physicians; (4) peer and community support.

CONCLUSION

Creating a successful social media account for parents must take into consideration their social media habits. A Facebook account that features brief videos may be most likely to engage parents. Additionally, physicians need to establish credibility and legitimacy of their content to attract their target audience.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

III.

Stuttering on Instagram: What is the focus of stuttering-related Instagram posts and how do users engage with them?

PURPOSE

Instagram has become a popular platform for sharing and seeking health-related information, including stuttering. However, concerns have been raised about the accuracy, confidentiality, and potential negative impact of such information. This study aims to examine how stuttering is defined and understood on Instagram, and how users engage with related content.

METHODS

We analyzed highly engaged Instagram posts with the hashtag "#Stuttering" published within a year and their corresponding comments using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The results revealed four main themes and nine sub-themes that highlighted different understandings of stuttering on Instagram, including the need for intervention, emotional impact on people who stutter, positive meanings, and mental health implications. User engagement varied based on the nature of the post, with users showing appreciation, objections, seeking advice, celebrating success stories, mocking, or advocating for people who stutter.

CONCLUSION

Although Instagram can serve as a means of normalizing stuttering and highlighting success stories, it raises concerns about the promotion of non-evidence-based treatments and the use of stuttering for political or entertainment purposes. This study emphasizes the need to critically evaluate health-related information presented on social media platforms. To provide reliable information to PWS and their families who seek information on social media, it is recommended to promote evidence-based information on stuttering through trustworthy organizations such as the National Stuttering Association or the Stuttering Foundation, particularly on special occasions like International Stuttering Awareness Day.

The impact of a dedicated social media strategy on enhancing surgical education

PURPOSE

Social media (SoMe) is increasingly important in surgical education and may be necessary in the current learning environment. Whilst expanding in use and applications, few studies detail the impact of SoMe on measurable outcomes. The goal of this study was to quantify the impact of a dedicated SoMe strategy on engagement metrics for surgical research.

METHODS

A retrospective review of a peer-reviewed surgical journal's Twitter microblog platform (@ColorectalDis) was performed from 6/2015 to 4/2021. A formal SoMe strategy was introduced in September 2018. Data were stratified into 2 time periods: pre-intervention (6-2015 to 9-2018) and post-SoMe intervention (9-2018 to 4-2021). The main outcome was the impact of the SoMe strategy on user engagement with the Twitter platform, journal, and traditional journal metrics. Twitter Analytics and Twitonomy were used to analyse engagement.

RESULTS

From conception to analysis, the microblog published 1198 original tweets, generating 5 million impressions and 231,000 engagements. Increased account activity (increased tweets published per month-5.51 vs 28.79; p < 0.01) was associated with significant engagement growth, including new monthly followers (213 vs 38; p < 0.01) and interactions with posted articles (4,096,167 vs 269,152; p < 0.01). Article downloads increased twenty-fold post-SoMe intervention (210,449 vs 10,934; p < 0.01), with significant increases in traditional journal metrics of new subscribers (+11%), article submissions (+24%), and impact factor (+0.9) (all p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

SoMe directly impacts traditional journal metrics in surgical research. By examining the patterns of user engagement between SoMe and journal sites, the growing beneficial impact of a structured social media strategy and SoMe as an educational tool is demonstrated.

Skin of Color Is Underrepresented on Instagram: Assessing South Jersey Skin Talk as an Educational Tool to Increase Awareness

Background Instagram, a widely used social media platform with over two billion active users, has the potential to propagate dermatologic health information within the public sphere. However, there is a lack of representation of people of color (POC), making it crucial to share accurate and inclusive posts to increase awareness about dermatologic conditions. It is also necessary to address the misconceptions about skin diseases and other hereditary conditions within various ethnic groups. To combat this, a group of medical students created South Jersey Skin Talk (SJST), an initiative aimed to improve dermatologic health literacy in skin-of-color communities, particularly in underserved areas like Camden County, NJ. Using reliable sources to prevent the spread of misinformation, SJST's accessible Instagram page explains skin conditions, especially emphasizing appearances and manifestations in POC. The hypothesis being investigated by this group is that the implementation of SJST as a community intervention is expected to improve dermatologic health literacy in POC. Methods A 13-question survey was conducted via Qualtrics (Seattle, Washington) and was distributed on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, TikTok, and GroupMe). It remained open for eight weeks during which users 18 years or older were invited to participate. The survey was divided into four sections: demographics, Instagram usage, knowledge of dermatology, and inclusion and diversity on SJST's page. A total of 184 total responses were collected, which were compared using chi-squared analyses on Qualtrics software. Results POC felt less represented on social media compared to White respondents prior to visiting SJST on Instagram (p < 0.00001). However, after viewing SJST, 87.5% of White participants and 88% of POC reported feeling represented on the page. Additionally, both groups of respondents indicated that they felt more knowledgeable about their primary skin concern after viewing the SJST's posts. Furthermore, 86.8% of POC reported that they would feel more confident participating in a conversation with their dermatologist regarding their primary dermatologic concern. Conclusion SJST is a community outreach organization focused on improving health literacy for POC and bridging the gap in healthcare disparities between White and POC populations. The results from this survey confirm the hypothesis and illustrate that community interventions targeted at education for POC increase health literacy and patient autonomy. These results also show that there is a need for more representation and diversity in medical dermatology on social media. Further studies should be done to investigate other disparities affecting adequate representation for POC.

Reddit Users' Questions and Concerns about Anesthesia

Background: Patients utilize social media in search of support networks. Reddit is one of the most popular social media sites and allows users to anonymously connect. Anesthesia patients are actively using Reddit to discuss their treatment options and experiences within the medical system. Methods: Posts published on an active Reddit forum on Anesthesia (i.e., /r/Anesthesia) were used. Big Query was used to collect posts from /r/Anesthesia. We collected 3,288 posts published between December 2015 and August 2019. We collected a control group of 3,288 posts from a Reddit forum not related to Anesthesia. Using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) we extracted 20 topics from our data set. The LDA topic themes most associated with posts in /r/Anesthesia compared to the control group were determined. Results: LDA analysis of posts in /r/Anesthesia relative to a control group produced 6 distinct categories of posts (Table 1). The posts most associated with /r/Anesthesia when compared to a control group were posts belonging to the “Physician-Patient Experience” category (Cohen’s d= 0.389) while the posts least associated with /r/Anesthesia were from the “Uncertainties” category of posts (Cohen’s d= 0.147). Example experiences from members of the /r/Anesthesia forum highlight subjective experiences of patients undergoing anesthesia. Conclusions: The language used on social media can provide insights into an individual's experience with anesthesia and inform physicians about patient concerns. Anesthesiologists are poised to address these concerns and prevent anonymous misinformation by providing verified physician insights on the forum /r/Anesthesia.

#CoreCosmeticSpecialties: An analysis of nonsurgical cosmetic procedure hashtags on Instagram

OBJECTIVES

In this study, we seek to characterize both the account credentials and content type for posts among the most popular nonsurgical cosmetic procedure hashtags on Instagram.

METHODS

Twenty-five hashtags related to nonsurgical cosmetic procedures were identified with over 250,000 posts each, ranging from 256,000 to 12.1 million posts per hashtag. The first 10 posts displayed under the "Top" section for each hashtag within Instagram, as sorted by Instagram's proprietary algorithm, were analyzed for account type and content type. Posts unrelated to the cosmetic procedure or with non-English captions were excluded. In total, 680 posts were queried with 250 posts meeting the inclusion criteria.

RESULTS

Content creators included nonphysician providers (68%), core cosmetic physicians (12%), noncore cosmetic physicians (8%), and consumers or others (13%). Content type included before and after (45%), self-promotional (23%), educational (17%), personal (5%), entertainment (5%), and promotional (5%). Among the different content creator types, core cosmetic physicians had the largest proportion of educational content at 38%.

CONCLUSIONS

High-quality educational content on Instagram from core cosmetic specialties is scarce. By increasing their presence on Instagram, core cosmetic physicians can provide patient education, counteract misinformation, and raise awareness on training and qualifications regarding nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.

Experiences of first year undergraduate nursing students using Instagram in their clinical practicum during COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Social media provides us with easy access to information. For students, it is an additional learning resource used in different types of theoretical and practical teaching methodologies.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this paper was to describe the perspective of undergraduate nursing students on the use of Instagram during their clinical practicums in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive and exploratory study based on an interpretative framework.

SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS

First-year undergraduate nursing students at the Universidad Europea de Madrid were included.

METHODS

In-depth interviews and researchers' field notes were used to collect the data. Purposive sampling and inductive thematic analysis were applied. During the interviews, themes such as accompaniment during practicums or training opportunities were identified.

RESULTS

The use of Instagram helped students to feel closer to professors, identifying it as an opportunity to remedy the possible lack of connection between theory and practice. Moreover, Instagram helped them build an image of nursing in clinical practicum environments. By using Instagram, undergraduate nursing students were able to better integrate and apply the knowledge acquired at university during their clinical practicums in hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results can be applied to future studies on the use of social media platforms as teaching tools in clinical practicum settings and to observe the evolution of the image and role of nursing and its relationship with social media.

Social Media and the Patient - on Education and Empowerment

Social media has unprecedentedly impacted the world, and this includes patients and physicians alike. This article provides a glimpse of the pros and cons of social media to both parties, and how, despite its pitfalls, rheumatologists can put its use in daily practice to help bridge the gap between, and among, rheumatologists and patients to ultimately improve patient outcomes.

Cochrane Skin Group's Global Social Media Reach: Content Analysis of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter Posts

BACKGROUND

Researchers in all medical specialties increasingly use social media to educate the public, share new publications with peers, and diversify their audiences.

OBJECTIVE

Given Cochrane Skin Group's expanded use of social media in the past years, we aimed to characterize Cochrane Skin Group's international social media audience and identify themes that result in increased content engagement.

METHODS

Cochrane Skin Group's Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter analytics data were extracted for follower demographics and the most viewed posts within a 3-year span (June 2019 to June 2022).

RESULTS

Overall, Cochrane Skin Group had the highest number of followers on Facebook (n=1037). The number of Instagram and Twitter followers reached 214 and 352, respectively. The greatest numbers of Facebook followers were from Brazil, Egypt, and India, with 271, 299, and 463 followers, respectively. Facebook's most viewed post about Cochrane Skin Group's annual meeting received 1041 views. The top post on Instagram, which introduced Cochrane Skin Group's social media editors, received 2522 views.

CONCLUSIONS

Each of the social media platforms used by Cochrane Skin Group reached varying audiences all over the world. Across social media platforms, posts regarding Cochrane Skin Group meetings, members, and professional opportunities received the most views. Overall, Cochrane Skin Group's multiplatform social media approach will continue to grow an international audience, connecting people interested in skin disease.

#Who: Investigation of Who Creates Laryngology Content Posted on Instagram

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to examine the types of accounts that create posts related to laryngology on Instagram, using hashtags derived from common diagnoses and procedures within the field, in order to assess the source and ownership of laryngology social media discussions.

METHODS

Fellowship-trained laryngologists were surveyed to determine the most common diagnoses treated and procedures performed in laryngology. These terms were then queried as hashtags on Instagram. The top 15 posts found per hashtag were classified by the category of individual who shared the content. The categories included laryngologists/otolaryngologists, speech-language pathologists (SLP), vocalists, other physicians, and "other individuals."

RESULTS

After surveying 20 fellowship-trained laryngologists, 25 different hashtags related to common diagnoses and procedures in laryngology were created and queried for the top 15 posts on Instagram. 260 posts on Instagram were identified, out of which 30.8% were posted by laryngologists/otolaryngologists, 19.2% by SLPs, 3.1% by vocalists, 6.1% by other physicians, and 40.8% by "other individuals."

CONCLUSIONS

A significant portion of top resulted posts on Instagram sharing laryngology-related content is not posted by laryngologists. This raises an issue of the reliability of health information available on social media to patients regarding laryngological conditions.

#Laryngology: A Standardized Hashtag Ontology

BACKGROUND

In the past decade, there has been a rise in social media applications and usage among individuals in the otolaryngology- head and neck surgery (OHNS) community. Hashtags (#), used to identify posts relating to similar topics, are utilized to search medical information, build a network, find providers, and discuss research. Previous OHNS literature in this arena includes a standard ontology, or list of hashtags, developed for the otology subspecialty. To date, the ontology of laryngology hashtags has not been created. The objective of this study is to propose a standardized ontology to use when discussing topics in laryngology on social media to maximize reach and effect.

METHODS

Using a combination of previously published techniques, along with laryngology specific adjustments, the authors developed a list of suggested hashtags. An initial list was systematically culled from laryngology Instagram accounts including academic programs, laryngology influencers (fellowship-trained laryngologists with publicly available professional accounts with greater than 500 followers), and professional societies/conferences. The list was abbreviated using current rate of use, specificity, and expert opinion. These were then categorized to include general terms, diseases and diagnoses, and treatment strategies RESULTS: Across all culled Instagram posts, there were 240 unique laryngology hashtags used and 1152 total hashtags were applied. The authors derived unique terms to be included in the ontology for laryngology by expert opinion of fellowship-trained laryngologists.

CONCLUSION

Laryngology is in the early stages of utilization of social media. Developing a specific ontology of hashtags to be used will optimize the reach and connections of term specific searches.

Media competencies for nurses: A Delphi study

BACKGROUND

Media raises awareness of important health issues, provides guidance to promote health, and shapes health policies. However, nurses are poorly represented in media.

PURPOSE

To propose competencies that can be used to advance nurses' knowledge and skills in using media to advance health.

METHODS

A Delphi study design of three successive surveys was employed. The Round 1 survey was sent to 70 nurse media leaders, and 28 (40%) responded. Seventeen respondents (61%) participated in Round 2. The Round 3 survey was not needed.

DISCUSSION

These competencies provide direction for academia, healthcare organizations, nursing associations and others who seek to develop the leadership and population health skills of nurses. Ways the competencies can be used are outlined.

CONCLUSION

There is an urgent need to improve population health outcomes by reducing disparities and promoting equity in health and health care. Media engagmeent is an importnat strategy for promoting population health. Additionally, promotion of better media representation of nurses and improved media engagement by nurses and nursing organizations all speak to the importance of advancing media competence.

COVID-19 and its effect on Instagram adoption by #OBGYN residency programs

OBJECTIVES

Instagram (IG) is becoming one of the larger resource tools within medicine. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming important for programs to improve virtual presence and outreach. We evaluated the adoption of IG by OB/GYN residency programs in the United States and aimed to see if highly ranked programs had higher utilization rates.

METHODS

IG presence and engagement metrics were extracted for all ACGME accredited OB/GYN programs. Doximity residency navigator tool was used to obtain nationwide program rankings, and statistical analysis was performed to prove any significant correlation. Mann-Whitney U test, Cochran-Armitage test and Analysis of variance were used for analysis. IRB exemption was obtained.

RESULTS

Seventy percent of programs (202/287) have IG presence, with the majority creating presence after the COVID pandemic began (115/202; 57%). Seventy-two percent (83/115) of these programs created their IG account once virtual interviews were announced. The top 25% of programs, as ranked on Doximity, have a higher number of posts, followers and likes when compared to the rest of the programs.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased adoption of IG by residency programs. Highly ranked and reputed programs have higher rates of activity, popularity, and engagement on IG.

Benefits, drawbacks, and challenges of social media use in dermatology: A systematic review

The presence of dermatological information on social media has grown exponentially over the last two decades. Consequently, the recent literature on this topic is abundant. Many authors have highlighted that social media constitutes a unique opportunity for patient education. Additionally, numerous other benefits of these platforms have been reported. However, other authors have focused on the potential risks that these networks involve. The main concerns are patient confidentiality, legal considerations and ethical issues. Therefore, we stand at a crossroads where the many advantages of social media use in dermatology seem to be underestimated due to the presence of potential drawbacks. At this point, we propose that a systematic review of the positive and negative aspects of using social media in dermatology is necessary. We carried out a comprehensive systematic review dating from inception to July 2021. Finally, 161 articles were included. Fifteen benefits, 11 drawbacks and 10 challenges of social media use in dermatology were identified and discussed. Suggested strategies to address the identified drawbacks were provided. Overall, while there are risks to using social media, they are outnumbered by their benefits. Therefore, dermatologists should embrace this opportunity to educate patients and aim to create rigorous and engaging content.

#Brachytherapy: Physicians As Influencers on Instagram

Purpose

We aimed to evaluate brachytherapy-related posts on Instagram by identifying patient concerns, the content of related posts, and user outreach.

Methods and materials

A list of top posts from searching #brachytherapy on May 7, 2021, were generated on a mobile device and all data are representative as of May 7, 2021. Searching for #brachytherapy resulted in 1010 posts which were analyzed using Instagram. The content was categorized by source (physician, patient, hospital, or not otherwise specified), type (education or experiences), disease site (cervical, endometrial, other), and user influence (number of posts, number of followers). Patient posts were specifically analyzed and all captions and hashtags were reviewed.

Results

The distribution of users with brachytherapy-related posts was as follows: 23% patients, 15% physicians, 9% hospitals, 53% not otherwise specified. Physicians only made up 11% of posts analyzed while the majority, 79%, were from patients and other Instagram users. From the accounts linked to patients, 99% of them were experience-based and 1% were educational. Posts made by physicians were educational in content 66% of the time, with 34% of posts being experiences. The median number of followers from least to greatest were not otherwise specified (NOS) 450.5, patients (501), hospital-affiliated (527), and physicians (608). In gynecological cancer patients, the reported side effects were as follows: fatigue 31%, gastrointestinal (GI) 16%, genitourinary (GU) 16%, pain 28%, and anxiety 50%.

Conclusion:

This study shows the influential power physicians have on social media and the need for increased brachytherapy awareness on platforms such as Instagram. Patients have voiced apprehension to pursue radiation due to lack of information provided and fear of the unknown. With this concern in mind, physicians are responsible to increase the availability of knowledge to patients in a more relaxed environment than the clinic. With increased physician social media presence, patients will have another avenue for support and reliable source of treatment information.

Radiology on Instagram: Analysis of Public Accounts and Identified Areas for Content Creation

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Radiology social media research has focused on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, with minimal attention to Instagram, which may be a natural platform for engagement. We evaluated features of public radiology-related Instagram accounts.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Instagram accounts were searched using the term "radiology." Two independent raters used a coding system developed through initial content review to categorize account user types and post aims over the study month (October 2019). Multivariate linear regressions were performed.

RESULTS

49 Instagram accounts and their 459 posts were retrieved. Users had median 117 total posts (interquartile range 43-203), 9 posts during the study month (1-16), 3079 followers (695-19,600), and 106 followed users (50-351). Most users were radiologists (41%, most commonly academic), radiology practices (12%, most commonly academic) and 10% radiology professional societies. The 459 posts had median 178 likes (interquartile range 51-353) and 2 comments (0-5); single videos had median 4693 views (2183-6080). 75% of posts were radiology images or videos (of these, 29% MRI, 28% CT). 65% of posts were clinical imaging cases (most commonly neuroradiology). Seven posts violated HIPAA regulations, all originating outside the U.S. When controlling for number of account followers, posts by radiology society (β = -130.6, p = 0.017) and practice accounts (β = -90.6, p = 0.049) had fewer post likes. An artwork post was the only significant predictor of greater post likes (β = +866.2, p < 0.001) and comments (β = +14.3, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Instagram is commonly used by academic radiologists to present clinical imaging cases. Radiologists should consider opportunities for greater application of this unique image-based social media platform.

Adapting non-medical applications for medical use: Ethical limits, coverage, and validation

The widespread adoption of smartphones and other mobile devices amongst healthcare providers opened new possibilities arising from the use of non-medical apps, social media, meeting platforms, and non-medical devices with intended medical purposes, thus expanding the communication and imaging chat systems between these professionals and their patients, as well as amongst healthcare professionals. However, adapting non-medical applications, social media, videoconference platforms and devices for medical use present potential limitations, barriers, and risks, which should be fully recognized to reduce crossing the fine line between ethical and unethical. In the herein study, we analyse the ethical limits, coverage, and validation of non-medical applications adapted for medical use. Level of evidence: IV (evidence from well-designed case-control or cohort studies).

Using Instagram to Enhance a Hematology and Oncology Teaching Module During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the rapid expansion of novel tools for digital medical education. At our university medical center, an Instagram account was developed as a tool for medical education and used for the first time as a supplement to the hematology and medical oncology teaching module of 2020/2021.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to evaluate the acceptance and role of Instagram as a novel teaching format in the education of medical students in hematology and medical oncology in the German medical curriculum.

METHODS

To investigate the role of Instagram in student education of hematology and medical oncology, an Instagram account was developed as a tie-in for the teaching module of 2020/21. The account was launched at the beginning of the teaching module, and 43 posts were added over the 47 days of the teaching module (at least 1 post per day). Five categories for the post content were established: (1) engagement, (2) self-awareness, (3) everyday clinical life combined with teaching aids, (4) teaching aids, and (5) scientific resources. Student interaction with the posts was measured based on overall subscription, "likes," comments, and polls. Approval to conduct this retrospective study was obtained from the local ethics commission of the University Medical Center Goettingen.

RESULTS

Of 164 medical students, 119 (72.6%) subscribed to the Instagram account, showing high acceptance and interest in the use of Instagram for medical education. The 43 posts generated 325 interactions. The highest number of interactions was observed for the category of engagement (mean 15.17 interactions, SD 5.01), followed by self-awareness (mean 14 interactions, SD 7.79). With an average of 7.3 likes per post, overall interaction was relatively low. However, although the category of scientific resources garnered the fewest likes (mean 1.86, SD 1.81), 66% (27/41) of the student participants who answered the related Instagram poll question were interested in studies and reviews, suggesting that although likes aid the estimation of a general trend of interest, there are facets to interest that cannot be represented by likes. Interaction significantly differed between posting categories (P<.001, Welch analysis of variance). Comparing the first category (engagement) with categories 3 to 5 showed a significant difference (Student t test with the Welch correction; category 1 vs 3, P=.01; category 1 vs 4, P=.01; category 1 vs 5, P=.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Instagram showed high acceptance among medical students participating in the hematology and oncology teaching curriculum. Students were most interested in posts on routine clinical life, self-care topics, and memory aids. More studies need to be conducted to comprehend the use of Instagram in medical education and to define the role Instagram will play in the future. Furthermore, evaluation guidelines and tools need to be developed.

Physician leaders' cross-boundary use of social media: what are the implications in the current COVID-19 environment?

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to better understand social media (SM) factors that physician leaders need to consider, as they adapt their cross-boundary practices to engage with colleagues and patients. Firstly, this study explores why SM is being used by physicians to cross horizontal (physician to physician) and stakeholder (physician to patient) boundaries prior to COVID-19. Secondly, based on the studies reviewed, this study provides insights on the practical SM implications for physician leaders working in the COVID-19 environment to actively enhance their practices, reduce public confusion and improve patient care, thus informing health-care practices.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

A systematic literature review was used to conduct a structured transparent overview of peer reviewed articles that describe physicians' use of cross-boundary SM across several disciplines (e.g. health, information science). As a baseline assessment prior to COVID-19, the review synthesized 47 articles, identified and selected from six databases and Novanet. This study used NVivo 12 to thematical code the articles, leading to the emergence of four broad factors that influence SM use.

FINDINGS

A key reason noted in the literature for physicians use of SM to cross horizontal boundaries is to share knowledge. Regarding stakeholder boundaries, the most cited reasons are to improve patient's health and encourage behavioural changes. Insights garnered on the practical SM implications include the need for physicians to be stronger leaders in presenting trustworthy and consistent facts about health information to the public and fellow peers. As role models for the effective use of SM tools, physician leaders can mentor and coach their colleagues and counterparts.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS

As this was a literature review, the authors did not collect primary data to further explore this rapidly changing and dynamic SM world. Next steps could include a survey to determine firstly, how physicians currently use SM in this COVID-19 environment, and secondly, how they could leverage it for their work. Findings from this survey will help us better understand the role of physician leaders as health-care influencers and how they could better create trust and inform the Canadian public in the health information that is being conveyed.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Physician leaders can play a key role in positively influencing institutional support for ethical and safe SM use and engagement practices. Physicians need to participate in developing regulations and guidelines that are fundamentally to physician leader's SM use. Central to this research would be the need to understand how physicians cross-boundary practices have changed during and potentially post COVID-19. Physician leaders also need to monitor information sources for credibility and ensure that these sources are protected. As role models for the effective use of SM tools, physician leaders can mentor and coach their colleagues and counterparts in this area.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

Although there have been studies of how physicians use SM, fewer studies explore why physician leaders' cross boundaries (horizontal and stakeholder) using SM. Important insights are gained in physician leaders practical use of SM. Key themes that emerged included: organizational and individual, information, professional and regulations and guideline factors. These factors strengthen physician leaders understanding of areas of foci to enhance their cross-boundary interactions. There is an urgency to study the complexity of SM and the effectiveness of regulations and guidelines for physicians, who are being required, at an accelerated rate, to strengthen and increase their cross-boundary practices.

#TrendingNow: Instagram Versus Twitter Activity Among Radiation Oncology Patients and Professionals

PURPOSE

We aimed to evaluate recent Instagram and Twitter posts to identify the primary disseminators of information related to radiation therapy on social media (health care professionals vs patients), to characterize their influencer status, and to characterize the content of this information.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Using 2 commercial hashtag analytics platforms, 1000 of the most recent eligible posts from each platform were evaluated for content, tone, and engagement, as well as user (poster) characteristics. Inclusion criteria were as follows: unique posts, written in English, relevant to human cancer treatment, and containing 1 of 11 predetermined hashtags (#radiation, #radiotherapy, #radiationtherapy, #radiationoncology, #radonc, #radiationtherapist #radiationtreatment, #medphys, #cyberknife, #radiosurgery, #protontherapy).

RESULTS

Users of radiation oncology content on Instagram were primarily patients/caregivers (47%), specifically adult patients (94%) with breast cancer (53%). Patient/caregiver content was focused on patient experience (79%), with approximately half specific to radiation therapy (51%), and most patient/caregiver posts demonstrated a positive tone (86%). In contrast, Twitter content was dominated by health care professionals (53%), specifically within radiation oncology (90% of unique users). Health care professional content was focused on colleague education/research dissemination (53%), with a high proportion of posts specific to radiation therapy (95%).

CONCLUSIONS

Given the disproportionate number of patients versus radiation oncology professionals active on Instagram versus Twitter, and the lack of radiation therapy-specific content on Instagram, there may be an opportunity to improve patient outreach and education by promoting the presence of radiation oncologists on Instagram.

Using Instagram as a tool to enhance anatomy learning at two US dental schools

Although growing evidence supports the inclusion of social media in education, no studies to date have investigated the potential role of Instagram in anatomy education for dental students. Anatomists at University of Texas School of Dentistry (UTSD) and University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Dentistry created unique Instagram pages supplemental to traditional pedagogy, aiming to provide easily-accessible, interactive content for our tech-savvy students. The aim of this study was to evaluate students' perspectives of the use of social media in education and their respective professor's Instagram page. In the fall of 2020, 170 students (86 from UTSD and 84 from UNMC) voluntarily participated in a survey via Qualtrics. The majority of respondents (85.1%) had seven or more years of experience with social media, and 96.9% of students reported using social media as a source of information with 92.5% using for educational purposes. All students agreed that their respective professor's page has been helpful for anatomy study and review, added to their understanding of anatomy, is convenient, engaging, and professional. While consistent themes emerged between cohorts, UNMC students had a higher level of agreement regarding their page's added relevance to learning in the class/clinic (p = 0.0016), while UTSD students reported feeling more comfortable asking their professor questions through Instagram (p = 0.015). Among all variables, female students and Generation Z students responded more favorably than male or Generation Y counterparts. Here, the authors describe benefits and considerations for others interested in using Instagram as an educational tool.

The Usefulness of Instagram Posts Tagging Hand Surgery Conditions

Introduction The objective of this study was to assess the usefulness of Instagram posts for users seeking information about common hand conditions.

Materials and Methods An internet-based study was performed of the top 200 trending posts on Instagram for each of the tags #carpaltunnel and #triggerfinger. The trending position (1 through 200), number of likes (for all posts), and number of views (for video posts only) were recorded. Each post was assessed to determine whether it would be useful for a user seeking medical information. Useful and not useful posts were further classified into thematic categories.

Results Useful posts comprised only 21% of #carpaltunnel posts and 12% of #triggerfinger posts. #carpaltunnel had a significantly higher proportion of useful posts than #triggerfinger. For both #carpaltunnel and #trigger finger, useful posts were not associated with trending position or number of likes. Useful posts commonly provided a clinical image or an anatomical diagram. Posts that were not useful were generally irrelevant to the hand condition, but a minority provided information not supported by evidence or were solely advertising material.

Conclusion Hand surgery patients can be educated that, in its current form, Instagram is not a source of useful information about common hand conditions.

Moving towards online rheumatology education in the era of COVID-19

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has unsettled conventional medical education, hastening a switch to digital platforms and open-access publishing. Rheumatology is a fast evolving academic discipline that stands to gain by this switch. Most rheumatology textbooks are now available in digital formats, and these are complemented with live updating educational hubs such as UpToDate and ClinicalKey. Emerging topics of COVID-19 on these proprietary platforms are now freely available to all specialists. Social media channels, particularly Twitter, are becoming major players in the era of COVID-19 by offering online journal clubs, enabling fast dissemination of influential articles, and facilitating interactive education. Indexed rheumatology journals, in turn, aid online education by opening access to recommendations and other materials that are rapidly changing research and practice worldwide. Research peer review additionally offers learning experience to novice and seasoned researchers and authors. Global rheumatology societies have online learning resources, which are changing their format and geographic reach to meet the changing needs in the times of pandemic. While online teaching lacks emotional connections between mentors and mentees, switch to a more interactive format of education and regular contacts may partly solve the issue. Rheumatologists can take the lead in these challenging times and contribute more to online scholarly activities which are aimed to maintain and enrich education. Key Points • Disparities in rheumatology education are likely to be widened during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Barriers to rheumatology education include limited number of instructors and their limited experience in online teaching. • Online textbooks, didactic materials of indexed rheumatology journals, and frequently updated online educational hubs such as UpToDate serve as a foundation of online rheumatology education. • Online rheumatology education is enriched by peer review and social media activities, which are becoming major players in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.