Nurses’ use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic—A scoping review

Abstract

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses stand in an unknown situation while facing continuous news feeds. Social media is a ubiquitous tool to gain and share reliable knowledge and experiences regarding COVID-19. The article aims to explore how nurses use social media in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Method A scoping review inspired by Arksey and O’Mally was conducted by searches in Medline, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete and Web of Sciences. Empirical research studies investigating nurses’ use of social media in relation to COVID-19 were included. Exclusion criteria were: Literature reviews, articles in languages other than English, articles about E-health, and articles investigating healthcare professionals without specification of nurses included. Articles, published in January-November 2020, were included and analysed through a thematic analysis. The PRISMA-ScR checklist was used. Results Most of the eleven included studies were cross-sectional surveys, conducted in developing countries, and had neither social media nor nurses as their main focus of interest. Three themes were identified: ‘Social media as a knowledge node’, ‘Social media functioned as profession-promoting channels’ and ‘Social media as a disciplinary tool’. Nurses used social media as channels to gain and share information about COVID-19, and to support each other by highlighting the need for training and changes in delivery of care and redeployment. Further, social media functioned as profession-promoting channels partly sharing heroic self-representations and acknowledgment of frontline persons in the pandemic, partly by displaying critical working conditions. Finally, nurses used social media to educate people to perform the ‘right ‘COVID-19’ behaviours in society. Conclusion This review provided snapshots of nurses’ uses of social media from various regions in the world, but revealed a need for studies from further countries and continents. The study calls for further multi-methodological and in depth qualitative research, including theoretically framed studies, with a specific focus on the uses of social media among nurses during the pandemic.

Blowing the whistle during the first wave of COVID‐19: A case study of Quebec nurses

“…In many ways, the COVID‐19 pandemic has challenged foundational understandings of whistleblowing because it unfolded on a global scale, across technologically mediated societies, and at a time where health care workers are more connected than ever. Health care workers turned to online platforms, such as ProMED and Twitter, to sound the alarm in the early days of the pandemic (Lopreite et al, 2021 ; Wark, 2021 ) and leveraged social media tools to communicate to the public, warn decision‐makers, support each other and share testimonials as the pandemic was unfolding (Gagnon & Perron, 2020b ; Glasdam et al, 2022 ). Health care workers also faced challenging working conditions compounded by a lack of personal protective equipment (Amon, 2020 ).…”

Scandinavian Nurses’ Use of Social Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Berger and Luckman Inspired Analysis of a Qualitative Interview Study

“…A recent scoping review about nurses’ uses of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic included 11 studies. It shows that nurses use social media as channels to gain information about COVID-19 in relation to the pandemic [ 42 ]. An Australian study shows that nurses experience blurred boundaries regarding Facebook ® uses, with hazy boundaries between personal and professional uses.…”

“…There were also concerns with nurses interpreting the conduct of fellow healthcare professionals as unprofessional and crossing the professional boundary if using Facebook ® to promulgate anti-vaccination messages and/or give medical advice online [ 43 ]. Nurses use social media to share inconsistencies in COVID-19 advice and, in that way, to sharpen attention to possible issues in the management of COVID-19 [ 42 , 44 ]. Further, this recent review shows that nurses use social media for collegial support by highlighting the need for further education and changes in care delivery and redeployment.…”

“…Social media functioned as profession-promoting channels for nurses through the sharing of heroic self-representations and the acknowledgment of frontline persons in the pandemic by expressing collegial solidarity. Moreover, nurses use social media to display critical working conditions and to challenge or oppose current healthcare management strategies [ 42 , 45 , 46 ]. This recent review provides snapshots from various regions in the world, in the respective specific local contexts, that are valuable for policy, practice, and pandemic preparedness in the healthcare sector.…”

“…In addition, it was difficult to separate nurses from healthcare professionals in general. Furthermore, the recent scoping review finds no studies from the Scandinavian countries focusing on nurses’ use of social media relating to the COVID-19 pandemic [ 42 ], motivating the current article’s focus on the three Scandinavian countries, i.e., Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The study aims to explore how nurses in the Scandinavian countries use social media for professional purposes in relation to the first 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”