McGowan Brian S, Wasko Molly, Vartabedian Bryan Steven, Miller Robert S, Freiherr Desirae D, Abdolrasulnia Maziar
Education Technology Consultant, Blue Bell, PA 19047, United States.
J Med Internet Res. 2012 Sep 24;14(5):e117. doi: 10.2196/jmir.2138.
Within the medical community there is persistent debate as to whether the information available through social media is trustworthy and valid, and whether physicians are ready to adopt these technologies and ultimately embrace them as a format for professional development and lifelong learning.
To identify how physicians are using social media to share and exchange medical information with other physicians, and to identify the factors that influence physicians' use of social media as a component of their lifelong learning and continuing professional development.
We developed a survey instrument based on the Technology Acceptance Model, hypothesizing that technology usage is best predicted by a physician's attitudes toward the technology, perceptions about the technology's usefulness and ease of use, and individual factors such as personal innovativeness. The survey was distributed via email to a random sample of 1695 practicing oncologists and primary care physicians in the United States in March 2011. Responses from 485 physicians were analyzed (response rate 28.61%).
Overall, 117 of 485 (24.1%) of respondents used social media daily or many times daily to scan or explore medical information, whereas 69 of 485 (14.2%) contributed new information via social media on a daily basis. On a weekly basis or more, 296 of 485 (61.0%) scanned and 223 of 485 (46.0%) contributed. In terms of attitudes toward the use of social media, 279 of 485 respondents (57.5%) perceived social media to be beneficial, engaging, and a good way to get current, high-quality information. In terms of usefulness, 281 of 485 (57.9%) of respondents stated that social media enabled them to care for patients more effectively, and 291 of 485 (60.0%) stated it improved the quality of patient care they delivered. The main factors influencing a physician's usage of social media to share medical knowledge with other physicians were perceived ease of use and usefulness. Respondents who had positive attitudes toward the use of social media were more likely to use social media and to share medical information with other physicians through social media. Neither age nor gender had a significant impact on adoption or usage of social media.
Based on the results of this study, the use of social media applications may be seen as an efficient and effective method for physicians to keep up-to-date and to share newly acquired medical knowledge with other physicians within the medical community and to improve the quality of patient care. Future studies are needed to examine the impact of the meaningful use of social media on physicians' knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors in practice.
在医学界，对于通过社交媒体获取的信息是否可靠和有效，以及医生是否准备好采用这些技术并最终将其作为专业发展和终身学习的一种形式，一直存在着持续的争论。
确定医生如何使用社交媒体与其他医生分享和交流医学信息，并确定影响医生将社交媒体作为终身学习和持续专业发展一部分的使用因素。
我们基于技术接受模型开发了一种调查工具，假设技术使用情况最好由医生对该技术的态度、对技术有用性和易用性的认知以及个人创新性等个体因素来预测。2011年3月，该调查通过电子邮件分发给美国1695名执业肿瘤学家和初级保健医生的随机样本。对485名医生的回复进行了分析（回复率28.61%）。
总体而言，485名受访者中有117名（24.1%）每天或每天多次使用社交媒体浏览或探索医学信息，而485名中有69名（14.2%）每天通过社交媒体提供新信息。每周或更频繁地，485名中有296名（61.0%）进行浏览，485名中有223名（46.0%）提供信息。在对使用社交媒体的态度方面，485名受访者中有279名（57.5%）认为社交媒体有益、有吸引力，是获取当前高质量信息的好方法。在有用性方面，485名受访者中有281名（57.9%）表示社交媒体使他们能够更有效地照顾患者，485名中有291名（60.0%）表示这提高了他们提供的患者护理质量。影响医生使用社交媒体与其他医生分享医学知识的主要因素是感知易用性和有用性。对使用社交媒体持积极态度的受访者更有可能使用社交媒体并通过社交媒体与其他医生分享医学信息。年龄和性别对社交媒体的采用或使用均无显著影响。
基于本研究结果，使用社交媒体应用程序可能被视为医生保持最新状态、与医学界其他医生分享新获得的医学知识以及提高患者护理质量的一种高效且有效的方法。未来需要进行研究，以检验有意义地使用社交媒体对医生在实践中的知识、态度、技能和行为的影响。
