Social media use in dermatology

Social Media Use in Dermatology in Turkey: Challenges and Tips for Patient Health

Social media has established its place in our daily lives, especially with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has become the leading source of information for dermatological literacy on various topics, ranging from skin diseases to everyday skincare and cosmetic purposes in the present digital era. Accumulated evidence indicates that accurate medical content constitutes only a tiny fraction of the exponentially growing dermatological information on digital platforms, highlighting an unmet patient need for access to evidence-based information on social media. However, there have been no recent local publications from Turkey analyzing and assessing the key elements in raising dermatological literacy and awareness in digital communication for patients. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first collaborative work between health care professionals and a social media specialist in the medical literature. Furthermore, it represents the first author-initiated implementation science attempt focusing on the use of social media in addressing dermatological problems, with the primary end point of increasing health literacy and patient benefits. The multidisciplinary expert panel was formed by 4 dermatologists with academic credentials and significant influence in public health and among patients on digital platforms. A social media specialist, who serves as a guest lecturer on "How social media works" at Istanbul Technical University, Turkey, was invited to the panel as an expert on digital communication. The panel members had a kickoff meeting to establish the context for the discussion points. The context of the advisory board meeting was outlined under 5 headlines. Two weeks later, the panel members presented their social media account statistics, defined the main characteristics of dermatology patients on social media, and discussed their experiences with patients on digital platforms. These discussions were organized under the predefined headlines and in line with the current literature. We aimed to collect expert opinions on identifying the main characteristics of individuals interested in dermatological topics and to provide recommendations to help dermatologists increase evidence-based dermatological content on social media. Additionally, experts discussed paradigms for dermatological outreach and the role of dermatologists in reducing misleading information on digital platforms in Turkey. The main concluding remark of this study is that dermatologists should enhance their social media presence to increase evidence-based knowledge by applying the principles of patient-physician communication on digital platforms while maintaining a professional stance. To achieve this goal, dermatologists should share targeted scientific content after increasing their knowledge about the operational rules of digital channels. This includes correctly identifying the needs of those seeking information on social media and preparing a sustainable social media communication plan. This viewpoint reflects Turkish dermatologists' experiences with individuals searching for dermatological information on local digital platforms; therefore, the applicability of recommendations may be limited and should be carefully considered.

Social Media and Urticaria - A Data Audit of Facebook®, LinkedIn®, and Twitter® Posts

Introduction

Urticaria is a common debilitating dermatological disorder impairing a patient's quality of life. Such patients are increasingly using socialmedia to manage their health and interact with peers, particularly during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives

To explore and analyse the quality of urticaria related social-media information available to patients.

Materials and Methods

An in-depth data audit of the three most commonly used social networks viz. Facebook®, LinkedIn®, and Twitter® were done on a single day, as posts may change or lose relevance over time. The word "urticaria" was searched on three social media, and the first 100 posts in each were further analysed. The post-creator was either categorised as "individual" or "group", and non-English posts were excluded. All types of posts have been analysed, including text, images, video, and website links. We also collected the comments/replies, share/re-tweet, and likes on the posts.

Results

Among the total 300 social-media posts, the highest number of "individual" posts was on LinkedIn® followed by Twitter® and Facebook® (χ2 = 82.86, P < 0.0001). Regarding thematic content, most Facebook® posts discussed disease symptoms, followed by the promotion of journal or blog posts, and discussion about causative and triggering agents. LinkedIn® was primarily used for the promotion of journal articles or blog posts, followed by educational webinars and urticaria treatment stories. Twitter® users mostly interacted with peers about their urticaria symptoms and perceived etiologic and triggering factors. Regarding the type of post, images were maximally shared on Facebook®, while video/video links and web links were highest on LinkedIn® (χ2 = 21.59, P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

The overall quality of urticaria related information on these 3 social media platforms is satisfactory for patients. Dermatologists may consider utilising social media to further educate such patients and improve the overall treatment outcome. The use of such networking channels will continue to grow, as communication remains crucial for urticaria management.

The Impact of WhatsApp as a Health Education Tool in Albinism: Interventional Study

BACKGROUND

Oculocutaneous albinism is a congenital disorder that causes hypopigmentation of the skin, hair, and eyes due to a lack of melanin. People with albinism are at increased risk of developing skin complications, such as solar keratosis and skin cancers, leading to higher morbidity. As education is crucial in managing albinism, leveraging information technology, such as WhatsApp, can provide an effective intervention for digital health education.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to assess the impact of WhatsApp as a tool for providing health education among people with albinism.

METHODS

The design of the study was interventional. The intervention consisted of weekly health education sessions conducted in a WhatsApp group for the duration of 4 weeks. The topics discussed were knowledge of albinism, sun protection practices, the use of sunscreen, and myths about albinism. They were all covered in 4 WhatsApp sessions held in 4 separate days. A web-based questionnaire was filled out before and after the intervention by the participants. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the pre- and postknowledge scores. Spearman correlation was used to correlate data.

RESULTS

The mean age of the study participants was 28.28 (SD 11.57) years. The number of participants was 140 in the preintervention period and 66 in the postintervention period. A statistically significant increase in overall knowledge (P=.01), knowledge of sunscreen (P=.01), and knowledge of sun protection (P<.01) was observed following the intervention. Before the intervention, a positive correlation was observed between age (r=0.17; P=.03) and education level (r=0.19; P=.02) with participants' overall knowledge. However, after the intervention, there was no significant correlation between knowledge and age or education level. A percentage increase of 5.23% was observed in the overall knowledge scores following the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

WhatsApp is an effective tool for educating people with albinism and can act as an alternative to the conventional methods of health education. It shows promising outcomes irrespective of the health literacy level of people with albinism. This educational intervention can positively impact behavior change and translate to consistent sun protection practices. The limitations of this study include the possibility of social desirability bias and data security.

Accuracy and Quality of YouTube Videos as a Source of Information on Vitiligo

Purpose

Vitiligo is a skin condition characterized by patchy depigmentation in the skin, affecting not just the physical well-being of patients, but also the mental, emotional, and social aspects of their lives. Social media provides a platform where patients can interact and share experiences, and for physicians and experts to disseminate knowledge on the disease. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and overall quality of vitiligo-related content on YouTube.

Methods

Thirty videos were screened by relevance according to the inclusion criteria. Videos were categorized as either healthcare or non-healthcare sources, and viewer engagement ratio was calculated for each. Three independent vitiligo experts rated the content using the following assessment tools: DISCERN, Accuracy in Digital-health Instrument (ANDI), and Global Quality Scale (GQS). Lastly, Cronbach’s alpha was used to estimate the inter-rater reliability and consistency.

Results

Most of the screened videos came from health-care sources (57%). Non-healthcare sources achieved a slightly higher viewer engagement ratio, although the difference is not statistically significant (p = 0.23). DISCERN score was low overall in most videos. However, DISCERN score was higher for health-care sources as compared to non-healthcare sources (30.5 ± 9.4 vs 22.7 ± 4,2, p = 0.009). Scores of ANDI and GQS were higher for health-care sources but not statistically significant. There was a good internal consistency in DISCERN rating among the evaluators (0.86).

Conclusion

Our study shows a low overall accuracy and quality of YouTube videos on vitiligo. It is recommended that health-care sources improve their information material in terms of quality and viewer engagement, as very little can be done to prevent non-healthcare sources in publishing their own videos. Efforts in educating the public on making distinction between evidence and non-evidence-based claims should also be taken.

Social Media in Dermatology and an Overview of Popular Social Media Platforms

Purpose of Review

Social media provides an accessible and increasingly popular avenue for sharing healthcare information, networking, and outreach in dermatology. We provide an overview of prominent social media platforms, also known as applications or apps, as well as a discussion of their influence and implications for the field.

Recent Findings

The various collaborative features of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, and other emerging platforms have proven appealing to organizations and users seeking dermatology-related content and medical advice. However, the potential for propagation of inaccurate or even dangerous information is high.

Summary

Despite the risks associated with social media usage, dermatology can benefit from opportunities to connect and engage with audiences through these platforms. Dermatologists should be encouraged to increase their presence on multiple social media apps to dispel and counteract misleading posts with evidence-based knowledge.

Analysis of the Content and Comprehensiveness of Dermatology Residency Training Websites in Taiwan

With a growing trend in the popularity of web-based resources, it is important to evaluate residency program websites for providing accurate information for dermatology residency applicants. Little is known about the quality of dermatology residency websites in Taiwan. The aim of the study is to assesses the quality of official websites of dermatology training programs in Taiwan. A literature search for all related studies from inception to 31 July 2020 was performed using PubMed without restriction on language. We used criteria that had 6 domains and 25 items to evaluate 23 official websites of the dermatology training programs in Taiwan from August to September 2020. Of the 23 training programs, only 6 (26%) of the websites met more than half of the criteria. Notably, the items "features of the department" and "comprehensive faculty listing" were included in all websites. The criteria for interview process, board pass rates, social activities and information on the surrounding area were not met by all websites. Evidently, there is much room for improvement for the dermatology training program websites in Taiwan.

Impact of Social Media on Skin Cancer Prevention

Despite the increasing prevalence of social media usage in health care contexts, its impact on skin cancer prevention and awareness has not been largely investigated. We conducted a review of literature on this topic with the objective of summarizing and analyzing the role of social media in skin cancer and sun damage awareness and to identify the uses, benefits, and limitations of different social media platforms on skin cancer prevention. In today’s technological society, it is critical to understand and study the best form of communication. Specific platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok vary in originators of material, target demographics, messaging strategies, and reliability of information with regards to skin cancer, sun, and indoor tanning damage. Our results demonstrate that social media interventions have shown promise in skin cancer prevention and continue to escalate by the day. Dermatologists should keep pace with the latest dermatological content on social media and examine its evolution to target the right audience with the proper messages. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness and true impact of social media on meaningful and lasting behavior change for skin cancer prevention.