Hazzam Joe, Lahrech Abdelmounaim
Faculty of Business and Law, The British University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
J Med Internet Res. 2018 Nov 7;20(11):e12035. doi: 10.2196/12035.
In the last decade, social media has emerged as a newer platform for knowledge dissemination, information exchange, and interpersonal communication for health care professionals (HCPs). However, the underlying behaviors of HCPs and the ethical use of social media for productivity enhancement and a sustainable health care system remain ambiguous.
This study seeks to understand the factors that relate to the frequency use of social media in the health care discipline. It also aims to explore the underlying online behaviors of HCPs, which include the exchange of medical information with peers, interpersonal communication, and productivity enhancement in their daily practice.
This study adopted the quantitative method in collecting and analyzing data. A survey instrument based on the behavioral and technology acceptance theories was developed for this purpose. The survey was distributed via social media platforms to 973 participants that included physicians, pharmacists, and allied HCPs working in the United Arab Emirates. The responses from 203 completed questionnaires (response rate 20.3%) were analyzed.
Of 203 respondents, 133 HCPs used WhatsApp (65.5%); therefore, WhatsApp had the highest number of users compared to Facebook and YouTube, with 101 users out of 203 (49.7%). Overall, 109 of 203 (53.6%) HCPs used social media platforms for the exchange of peer medical information and 108 of 203 (53.2%) used social media several times during the day to improve their interpersonal communication with colleagues. However, only 71 of 203 (34.9%) utilized social media to enhance their productivity in general. The structural model equation showed that behavioral intention (beta=.47; P<.001), habit (beta=.26; P=.001), attitude (beta=.20; P=.002), and perceived usefulness (beta=.12; P=.09) were positively and significantly related to frequency of use. The model explained a rate of 45% variance in the frequency of use and a rate of 17% variance in the social media intention of use.
The research highlights the significant factors that relate to the adoption of social media platforms in health care practice. Based on the findings of this study, the use of online platforms facilitates the exchange of medical information among peers and enhances the share of experiences that support HCP's learning and development. Moreover, social media platforms foster a higher level of communication among practitioners and might improve daily productivity. Future researchers might explore other variables such as training and external factors. For instance, they may draw on areas related to guidelines and policies. From this standpoint, the health care discipline can benefit from highly interactive platforms and adopt them for development, collaboration, and better health outcomes.
在过去十年中，社交媒体已成为医疗保健专业人员（HCPs）进行知识传播、信息交流和人际沟通的新平台。然而，HCPs使用社交媒体的潜在行为以及为提高工作效率和建立可持续医疗保健系统而对社交媒体的道德使用仍不明确。
本研究旨在了解与医疗保健领域社交媒体使用频率相关的因素。它还旨在探索HCPs的潜在在线行为，包括与同行交流医疗信息、人际沟通以及在日常实践中提高工作效率。
本研究采用定量方法收集和分析数据。为此开发了一种基于行为和技术接受理论的调查工具。该调查通过社交媒体平台分发给973名参与者，包括在阿拉伯联合酋长国工作的医生、药剂师和相关HCPs。对203份完整问卷的回复（回复率20.3%）进行了分析。
在203名受访者中，133名HCPs使用WhatsApp（65.5%）；因此，与Facebook和YouTube相比，WhatsApp的用户数量最多，203名中有101名用户（49.7%）。总体而言，203名HCPs中有109名（53.6%）使用社交媒体平台交流同行医疗信息，203名中有108名（53.2%）在白天多次使用社交媒体以改善与同事的人际沟通。然而，203名中只有71名（34.9%）总体上利用社交媒体提高工作效率。结构模型方程显示，行为意向（β = 0.47；P <.001）、习惯（β = 0.26；P = 0.001）、态度（β = 0.20；P = 0.002）和感知有用性（β = 0.12；P = 0.09）与使用频率呈正相关且具有显著相关性。该模型解释了使用频率45%的方差和社交媒体使用意向17%的方差。
该研究突出了与医疗保健实践中采用社交媒体平台相关的重要因素。基于本研究的结果，在线平台的使用促进了同行之间的医疗信息交流，并增加了支持HCPs学习和发展的经验分享。此外，社交媒体平台促进了从业者之间更高水平的沟通，并可能提高日常工作效率。未来的研究人员可能会探索其他变量，如培训和外部因素。例如，他们可以借鉴与指南和政策相关的领域。从这个角度来看，医疗保健领域可以从高度互动的平台中受益，并采用它们来促进发展、协作和取得更好的健康成果。
