Early adopters or laggards? Attitudes toward and use of social media among urologists.
BJU Int
; 115(3): 491-7, 2015 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24981237
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To understand the attitudes and practices of urologists regarding social media use. Social media services have become ubiquitous, but their role in the context of medical practice is underappreciated. SUBJECTS ANDMETHODS:
A survey was sent to all active members of the Canadian Urological Association by e-mail and surface mail. Likert scales were used to assess engagement in social media, as well as attitudes toward physician responsibilities, privacy concerns and patient interaction online.RESULTS:
Of 504 surveys delivered, 229 were completed (45.4%). Urologists reported frequent or daily personal and professional social media use in 26% and 8% of cases, respectively. There were no differences between paper (n = 103) or online (n = 126; P > 0.05) submissions. Among frequent social media users, YouTube (86%), Facebook (76%), and Twitter (41%) were most commonly used; 12% post content or links frequently to these sites. The most common perceived roles of social media in health care were for inter-professional communication (67%) or as a simple information repository (59%); online patient interaction was endorsed by 14% of urologists. Fewer than 19% had read published guidelines for online patient interaction, and ≤64% were unaware of their existence. In all, 94.6% agreed that physicians need to exercise caution personal social media posting, although 57% felt that medical regulatory bodies should 'stay out of [their] personal social media activities', especially those in practice <10 years (P = 0.001). In all, 56% agreed that social media integration in medical practice will be 'impossible' due to privacy and boundary issues; 73% felt that online interaction with patients would become unavoidable in the future, especially those in practice >20 years (P = 0.02).CONCLUSION:
Practicing urologists engage infrequently in social media activities, and are almost universal in avoiding social media for professional use. Most feel that social media is best kept to exchanges between colleagues. Emerging data suggest an increasing involvement is likely in the continuing professional development space.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Médicos
/
Urologia
/
Mídias Sociais
Tipo de estudo:
Guideline
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BJU Int
Assunto da revista:
UROLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2015
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Canadá