The Current Status and a New Approach for Chinese Doctors to Obtain Medical Knowledge Using Social Media: A Study of WeChat

Abstract

Background. WeChat is the most widely and frequently used mobile social media in China and has profoundly integrated into the daily life of many Chinese people. A variety of medicine-related information may be found on WeChat. As users of WeChat, doctors often access health-related information and even provide a variety of medical services or participate in various types of mobile communication with patients. Objective. This study is the first attempt to quantitatively explore the approaches by doctors of acquiring medical knowledge using Internet resources especially social media such as WeChat to access knowledge. Methods. A self-administered questionnaire was designed, distributed, collected, and analyzed utilizing the online survey tool Sojump. WeChat was adopted to randomly release the questionnaires using snowball sampling and collect the results after a certain amount of time. Results. 292 valid questionnaires out of 314 questionnaires by clinical doctors were analyzed. Regarding the current status of accessing medical knowledge among doctors, more than 60% of the doctors regularly used the Internet to search for medical knowledge, 19.86% used WeChat as a channel to acquire medical knowledge, and only 23.97% were satisfied with acquiring medical knowledge through the Internet. Regarding the frequency of WeChat usage, nearly 40% of the doctors accessed WeChat more than 20 times per day and over 70% used WeChat for over half an hour every day. Regarding the status of accessing medical knowledge through WeChat, nearly half (47.26%) of the doctors stated that they often read professional medical articles on WeChat and the most common channel is friends’ moment sharing and public account subscriptions, with selection rates of 59.93% and 60.27%, respectively. The most desirable mode of acquiring medical knowledge through WeChat was the following: “professional medical knowledge from peers, with a reminder.” Conclusion. WeChat has become a nonnegligible means of acquiring medical knowledge for busy Chinese physicians in a mobile environment. Further evaluation and improvement of the quality of medical knowledge on WeChat are needed. The recommendation of individualized articles through social media may become another contributing factor for doctors to acquire medical knowledge effectively and efficiently.

Does Higher Business Education Champion Environmental Sustainability for Next Generation of Leaders? An Assessment of In-School Students and Alumni’s Perspective

“…The possible reason of the highest level of subjective norm perceived by in-school senior students is that their personal attitude toward environmental sustainability may be routinely impacted by the everyday campus practices and their understanding of green issues may also reflect regular instructions and lectures by the university administration and academic supervisors [20,76]. As proposed by the legitimacy theory, students' behaviors are shaped by their perception of what other people do in support of a particular action, rules, or belief [62].…”

“…Since that in-school students consider they may receive more positive influence from the HEIs, their perception can be transformed into action if the university perceives environmental sustainability as essential and the campus itself become environmentally responsible [76]. When a particular norm or behavior is valid, in-school students may realize its legitimate status and likewise support it.…”

Social Media for Scholarly Communication in Central Asia and Its Neighbouring Countries

“…33 34 However, the medical content on this platform is touted to be concerning, due to frequent publication by unprofessional public accounts, lack of homogeneity and high frequency of advertisements. 35 Therefore, improvements have been suggested before its use can be expanded for research or clinical services. Qzone is a Facebook analogue having a significant user base along with Kaixin and Renren.…”

A survey of medical ghostwriting in China

“…Questionnaires with QR codes were distributed via social networks (WeChat) from 3 December 2018 to 29 January 2019. WeChat is the major route for exchanging medical knowledge for busy Chinese physicians in a mobile environment (Liu et al, 2018). The author questionnaire was distributed in the healthcare professionals' groups, and the editor questionnaire was distributed in the medical editors' groups.…”