Duymus Tahir Mutlu, Karadeniz Hilmi, Çaçan Mehmet Akif, Kömür Baran, Demirtaş Abdullah, Zehir Sinan, Azboy İbrahim
Tahir Mutlu Duymus, Department of Orthopaedics, Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, 34668 Istanbul, Turkey.
World J Orthop. 2017 Feb 18;8(2):178-186. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v8.i2.178.
To evaluate social media usage of orthopaedic patients to search for solutions to their health problems.
The study data were collected using face-to-face questionnaire with randomly selected 1890 patients aged over 18 years who had been admitted to the orthopaedic clinics in different cities and provinces across Turkey. The questionnaire consists of a total of 16 questions pertaining to internet and social media usage and demographics of patients, patients' choice of institution for treatment, patient complaints on admission, online hospital and physician ratings, communication between the patient and the physician and its effects.
It was found that 34.2% ( = 647) of the participants consulted with an orthopaedist using the internet and 48.7% ( = 315) of them preferred websites that allow users to ask questions to a physician. Of all question-askers, 48.5% ( = 314) reported having found the answers helpful. Based on the educational level of the participants, there was a highly significant difference between the rates of asking questions to an orthopaedist using the internet ( = 0.001). The rate of question-asking was significantly lower in patients with an elementary education than that in those with secondary, high school and undergraduate education ( = 0.001) The rate of reporting that the answers given was helpful was significantly higher in participants with an undergraduate degree compared to those who were illiterate, those with primary, elementary or high school education ( = 0.001). It was also found that the usage of the internet for health problems was higher among managers-qualified participants than unemployed-housewives, officers, workers-intermediate staff ( < 0.05).
We concluded that patients have been increasingly using the internet and social media to select a specific physician or to seek solution to their health problems in an effective way. Even though the internet and social media offer beneficial effects for physicians or patients, there is still much obscurity regarding their harms and further studies are warranted for necessary arrangements to be made.
评估骨科患者使用社交媒体来寻求健康问题解决方案的情况。
通过面对面问卷调查收集研究数据，随机选取了1890名年龄超过18岁、在土耳其不同省市的骨科诊所就诊的患者。问卷共有16个问题，涉及互联网和社交媒体使用情况、患者人口统计学信息、患者对治疗机构的选择、入院时患者的投诉、在线医院和医生评分、患者与医生之间的沟通及其影响。
发现34.2%（n = 647）的参与者通过互联网咨询骨科医生，其中48.7%（n = 315）的人更喜欢允许用户向医生提问的网站。在所有提问者中，48.5%（n = 314）报告称所找到的答案有帮助。根据参与者的教育水平，通过互联网向骨科医生提问的比例之间存在高度显著差异（P = 0.001）。小学教育程度的患者提问比例明显低于初中、高中和本科教育程度的患者（P = 0.001）。与文盲、小学、初中或高中教育程度的参与者相比，本科学历的参与者报告答案有帮助的比例明显更高（P = 0.001）。还发现，在有管理资质的参与者中，因健康问题使用互联网的比例高于无业家庭主妇、官员、工人及中级职员（P < 0.05）。
我们得出结论，患者越来越多地使用互联网和社交媒体来选择特定医生或以有效方式寻求健康问题的解决方案。尽管互联网和社交媒体对医生或患者有有益影响，但关于其危害仍有很多不明确之处，有必要进行进一步研究以做出必要安排。
