Making connections and promoting the profession: Social media use by World Federation of Occupational Therapists member organisations

Abstract

BackgroundWorld Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) member organisations comprise 77 national occupational therapy organisations across the world. Each national organisation interacts with its members and the public using diverse methods. Increasingly, national organisations are broadening their communication methods.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine if and how occupational therapy organisations are using social media for communication, and if so, the types of concerns or barriers they experience and what role they anticipate social media might play in the near future.MethodsAn online survey was developed; 57 of 77 WFOT member organisations responded.FindingsThis study identified that WFOT national organisations are using social media, to varying degrees, with or without an individual formally assigned to manage social media. Respondents reported that they used social media to: communicate with members, promote the organisation and promote the profession. Commonly expressed needs included assistance with guidelines for ethical social media use, developing technical expertise, and recognition of limits of time and competing priorities. Recommendations arising from this research are at the global, national, local and individual levels and incorporate active dissemination and pure diffusion approaches. Taking steps to increase the use of social media could indirectly impact occupational therapy practice through enhancing organisations’ abilities to support practitioners to enhance their practice.Limitations and recommendations for further researchAlthough 57% of WFOT member organisations returned usable responses, there may be some additional perspectives that were not captured. It would be helpful to contact non-responding organisations to explore their social media use and plans. Further research could examine how future initiatives put in place by WFOT impact social media use by member organisations.

Why should we care about social media codes of conduct in healthcare organisations? A systematic literature review

“…Healthcare organisation employees are not always aware of current social media policies and codes (Collings-Hughes et al 2021 ; Comber et al 2021 ; Surani et al 2017 ), thus increasing the risk of breaches. The findings in this review support the need for ongoing training and education in the use of social media for healthcare organisation employees (Ahmed et al 2020 ; Alber et al 2016 ; Bautista et al 2021 ; Comber et al 2021 ; Corniati et al 2019 ; Hamilton et al 2016 ; Osis and Pelling 2015 ). Healthcare organisation employees must adapt their behaviour to maintain professionalism in the digital age (Ahmed et al 2020 ).…”

“…The findings in this review support the need for codes of conduct, policies and guidelines to be established specifically for the use of social media by healthcare organisation employees (Corniati et al 2019 ; El Daouk et al 2020 ; Ghalavand et al 2020 ; Hamilton et al 2016 ; Holdsworth et al 2013 ; Khan et al 2021 ; Peek et al 2015 ; Peluchette et al 2016 ; Popper-Giveon et al 2019 ; Sweet 2012 ). With social media use in general, society is encouraged to take risks, be impulsive and be social.…”

“…Healthcare organisations must develop, enforce and update policies to address appropriate and inappropriate conduct on social media, including employee agreements, orientation training, employee handbooks and performance appraisals (Suby 2013 ). Furthermore, ongoing monitoring of education, training and support needs to be addressed (Ahmed et al 2020 ; Hamilton et al 2016 ). Acknowledging that social media will continue to evolve and change will help healthcare organisations realise that an enabler of good social media codes of conduct is to continually educate, review and adapt.…”

“…Review yourself regularly - how do you portray? Commentary Hamilton et al 2016 Guidance, strategy, ongoing monitoring, education, training and support Research article Panahi et al 2016 Privacy Regulation and understanding by healthcare organisations Research article Patdu 2016 Separating personal and employee Commentary Peluchette et al 2016 Separation of boundaries between personal and employee. Privacy Need for a code of conduct for social networking sites Research article Swartz 2016 Permanent content Editorial Call and Hillock 2017 Personal vs professional life-balance Separate personal from professional Research article Kubheka 2017 The right to freedom of speech must be limited to avoid violation of other people’s rights Review article Surani et al 2017 Privacy Research article Holden and Spallek 2018 False information Review article Petersen and Lehmann 2018 Privacy Editorial Corniati et al 2019 Educational and empowering paths towards good practices in social media Research article Popper-Giveon et al 2019 Privacy.…”

How occupational therapy practitioners use virtual communities on the Facebook social media platform for professional learning: A critical incident study

“…Professional social media use has also become increasingly widespread with the establishment of the World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) international social media advisory group, as well as the release of a position statement [5]. Research has been conducted on the use of social media by WFOT member organisations [6]; and guidelines have been published by some of the most established national professional organisations [7,8]. At the grassroots level, professional networks and communities on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are also popular [9][10][11].…”