Long Xingbo, Qi Lin, Ou Zhenyu, Zu Xiongbing, Cao Zhenzhen, Zeng Xiting, Li Yuan, Chen Minfeng, Wang Zhao, Wang Long
Department of Urology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Department of Gynecologic Oncology, Hunan Provincial Tumor Hospital and Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xiangya Medical School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
PLoS One. 2017 Jul 28;12(7):e0181895. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181895. eCollection 2017.
Social media has revolutionized the way people communicate, and it has been widely incorporated into medical practice. However, limited data are available regarding the use of social media by Chinese urologists in their practice.
From 2014 to 2016, during the China Urological Association's (CUA) Annual National Minimally Invasive Urology Academic Conference, an anonymous survey on social media usage was distributed to participant urologists.
The results of the survey, which was completed by 665 participants, indicate a conspicuous increase in social media use during the last three years. Regression analysis showed that year (2014 compared to 2016 and 2015), institute location (in the eastern region of China) and age (<35 y) were independent predictors of social media use. Rather than for personal use, an increasing number of respondents said they used social media for professional purposes, and for most respondents, social media has had a positive impact on their practice. However, when posting information on social media, few respondents were aware of the issue of protecting patients' privacy.
Our study demonstrates a dramatic increase in social media use among Chinese urologists, which provides great opportunities for online academic communication and medical education. However, unprofessional use of social media in the medical practice may bring about potential risks and challenges for the further development of social media in medical practice.
社交媒体彻底改变了人们的交流方式，并已广泛应用于医疗实践中。然而，关于中国泌尿外科医生在实践中使用社交媒体的数据有限。
2014年至2016年期间，在中国泌尿外科协会（CUA）年度全国微创泌尿外科学术会议期间，向参会的泌尿外科医生发放了一份关于社交媒体使用情况的匿名调查问卷。
665名参与者完成了该调查，结果显示在过去三年中社交媒体的使用显著增加。回归分析表明，年份（2014年与2016年及2015年相比）、机构所在地（中国东部地区）和年龄（<35岁）是社交媒体使用的独立预测因素。越来越多的受访者表示他们使用社交媒体是出于专业目的，而非个人用途，并且对大多数受访者而言，社交媒体对他们的实践产生了积极影响。然而，在社交媒体上发布信息时，很少有受访者意识到保护患者隐私的问题。
我们的研究表明中国泌尿外科医生对社交媒体的使用显著增加，这为在线学术交流和医学教育提供了巨大机遇。然而，在医疗实践中不专业地使用社交媒体可能会给社交媒体在医疗实践中的进一步发展带来潜在风险和挑战。
