Social media as a new source of medical information and support: analysis of scoliosis-specific information.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT

It has never been easier for patients to obtain information about and to connect with others with a given health issue. Frequently, patients turn to social media. There, more information and emotional support from individuals with similar experiences should empower patients, contributing to a better functional and overall outcome. Unfortunately, social media often contains biased reports and misinformation.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to assess the footprint of AIS (adolescent idiopathic scoliosis) on the top four social media platforms.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis.

METHODS

Independent searches were conducted across four major social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn) using the keywords "scoliosis" and "#scoliosis" for Instagram. The top 50 posts from each platform were evaluated based on the overall tone of the post (positive, negative, neutral); who made the post (business, patient, family/friend, hospital/physician); the intent of the postcy (advertisement, educate the viewer about scoliosis/disease process/treatments, raise awareness, provide support to patients and their family/friends, promote research); the credentials of the poster [MD, clinician (non-MD), non-clinician, unknown]; the type of media used in the post (text only, picture, video, multiple) and if the post had an external link and what content the link provided (academic, hospital/physician, health news outlet, alternative treatment, personal blog, business, other).

RESULTS

196 unique postings were analyzed for the various content criteria. Across all four platforms, the majority of posts were made by a non-clinician (42.8%) representing a business (49.3%), with the intent to educate (32.3%) using a neutral tone (52.5%). Pictures (61%) were the most common media, and 56.3% of all posts contained external links. Often, those links lead to sites promoting alternative treatments (28.8%). In comparison to the overall analysis, Instagram deviated from the patterns the most. Instagram was the only platform with a predominantly positive tone (62%). Here, 71% of the postings came from an actual patient with the intent to describe their experience or daily life with scoliosis (36%). Instagram had the lowest rate of external links (39%) and most of those lead to another person's Instagram account or a personal blog (47%). Hospital and physician groups had the highest presence on YouTube (35%), but the highest MD authorship was on Facebook (28%).

CONCLUSION

Social media can be a powerful tool to disseminate information and create supportive communities for patients with chronic conditions. Healthcare providers and educators are underutilizing these outlets to reach our patients and help provide them the information and support networks they need.