Parental Views on the Role of Social Media in Pediatric Otolaryngology

Abstract

Objective: Social media is playing an increasingly important role in medicine as a tool for patients and their families to find information and connect with others. The goal of this study is to understand parental views on if and how social media should be incorporated into pediatric otolaryngology by physicians and hospitals. Methods: A survey was distributed to parents of pediatric otolaryngologic patients to assess views on professional social media use by physicians and hospitals. The proportion of parents who answered with specific responses in the survey was computed using the SPSS frequency analysis function. Results: One hundred five parents completed the survey. Ninety-six percent of respondents use social media, of which 92% use social media at least once a day (n = 93). Eighty-five percent of respondents said they definitely or probably would visit their physician’s professional social media page (n = 90). Seventy-four percent would be interested in obtaining more information about the physician (n = 76). Forty-one percent would be interested in patient stories (n = 76). Twenty-eight percent would visit out of curiosity (n = 76). Twenty-six percent would want to gather more information about the hospital (n = 76). Seventeen percent would want to connect with other patients and their family members (n = 76). Sixty-seven percent of respondents believe it is important for physicians to have a professional social media page, and 79% of respondents believe it is important for hospitals to have a public social media page (n = 93). Conclusion: The vast majority of parents of pediatric otolaryngologic patients use social media regularly and would want to gather information about their physician and hospital through social media. Therefore, physicians and hospitals should consider using social media as a valuable tool to connect with and relay information to patients and their family members.

Laryngectomy: Social media analysis of patient perception

“…Many recently published studies have investigated the role of social media in multiple aspects of otolaryngology, from quality of information sources to patient perceptions associated with different conditions. For example, a 2015 study by Saxena et al found cochlear implant patients to have widespread use across different social media platforms, and Ward et al found that parents of pediatric otolaryngology patients had strong interest in using social media as a source for health care information 5,6 . Other articles have analyzed the current online sources of health information for accuracy and relevance such as YouTube videos about laryngeal cancer or otitis media 7,8 .…”

“…For example, a 2015 study by Saxena et al found cochlear implant patients to have widespread use across different social media platforms, and Ward et al found that parents of pediatric otolaryngology patients had strong interest in using social media as a source for health care information. 5,6 Other articles have analyzed the current online sources of health information for accuracy and relevance such as YouTube videos about laryngeal cancer or otitis media. 7,8 Additionally, studies have investigated social media posts to gauge patient perceptions and experience with certain diagnoses and interventions such as head and neck cancer, pediatric tonsillectomy and tympanostomy tube insertions, and sinus surgery.…”

Surveying the Landscape of Social Media Usage for Health Care by Otolaryngology Patients

“…Prior studies have demonstrated that physicians, particularly in the younger age demographic, are familiar with social media, as nearly 90% of physicians aged 26–55 have at least one social media account 16 . However, whereas both physicians and patients have developed social media niches, there may be a disconnect in usages; a recent study demonstrated 67% of parents of pediatric patients undergoing an otolaryngologic procedure wanted their physician to have a social media account related to their practice, whereas only 27% of physicians had social media accounts specifically for health care‐related purposes 2,17 . Beyond this, it has been shown that patients primarily use Twitter and Facebook to interact with other patients, whereas physicians most commonly used LinkedIn and Twitter to contact fellow professionals and for marketing purposes, suggesting somewhat discrete silos in which these groups use their social media accounts 2,18,19 .…”

“…Previous studies have clearly shown that both clinicians and patients are active on social media for various reasons, often related to their profession or their medical care respectively 1 . Additionally, prior studies demonstrated that there is a desire among certain populations to have their physicians on social media for reasons related to their practice 17 . However, prior to this, there has been no study investigating the relationship of patients' usage of social media with their knowledge and preferences related to its health care implications.…”

“…16 However, whereas both physicians and patients have developed social media niches, there may be a disconnect in usages; a recent study demonstrated 67% of parents of pediatric patients undergoing an otolaryngologic procedure wanted their physician to have a social media account related to their practice, whereas only 27% of physicians had social media accounts specifically for health care-related purposes. 2,17 Beyond this, it has been shown that patients primarily use Twitter and Facebook to interact with other patients, whereas physicians most commonly used LinkedIn and Twitter to contact fellow professionals and for marketing purposes, suggesting somewhat discrete silos in which these groups use their social media accounts. 2,18,19 This suggests that not only does social media have a growing impact for patients, but also that there may be a desire and need for physicians to augment their presence on social media for patient interaction and content distribution.…”