The use of social media as a tool for patient blood management and transfusion medicine education

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Transfusion is one of the most performed medical procedures. Wrong indications are common and are probably related to the scarcity of transfusion teaching during medical education. The development of a new way to improve transfusion education is paramount. Social media has the potential to reach larger audiences for rapid communication of medical content. The use of social media for transfusion education in Brazil has not been published. The aim of this article is to describe a new tool to improve transfusion learning. Materials and Methods: Evidence-based cards were created. Initially, these cards were sent by WhatsApp. Later, Instagram and Facebook pages were created.EducaSangue, as this e-learning project was called, is a tool for the spreading of transfusion knowledge that permits the exchange of experiences.Results: By April 2021, Facebook and Instagram pages had 8300 and 5100 followers, respectively. Cards about single red blood cell (RBC) unit, alternatives to transfusion, transfusion reactions and pre-transfusion tests were published. Doctors and other health professionals follow EducaSangue. RBC transfusions reduced in Ceara and single-unit RBC increased by 28%, although not statistically significant. In Brazil, the minority of medical schools have transfusion as a discipline. The scarcity of transfusion education is related to the poorer care of the patient. Technological innovation has been used for educational changes and is an alternative to formal education. Conclusion:Social media is an interesting tool to provide quality to medical services, since they can reach a broader public, especially where personal contact is difficult.patient blood management, transfusion medicine, transfusion therapy Highlights• This is the first article that evaluates the use of social media in transfusion medicine education in Brazil.• Social media is a powerful tool to improve transfusion safety and patient blood management.

E‐learning in transfusion medicine: A scoping review

“…Physicians including interns/residents/foundational‐year trainees (six studies), medical students (six studies), and nurses/midwives (six studies) were the common targeted learners, followed by nursing/midwifery students and staff in the first year of training (four studies) and laboratory technologists/scientists students (one study). Three publications described targeting multiple healthcare professional learners 18,23,24 …”

“…These reported positive impact on outcomes, such as a reduction in blood component ordering and transfusion rates, improved traceability, and improvement in perinatal outcomes related to postpartum hemorrhage. Brunetta et al evaluated the impact of its social media learning program and reported a reduction in RBC transfusions, and an increase in single‐unit RBC used after introducing the social media program 24 . Kelly et al introduced formal staff education including a transfusion e‐learning module, then retrospectively reviewed the overall transfusion and discard rates, indication, and the hemoglobin cut‐offs for transfusion orders in the emergency department 15 .…”

“…The 26 publications were from 14 countries including seven from the United States, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] six from the United Kingdom, [14][15][16][17][18][19] four from other countries in Europe, [20][21][22][23] and five from low-and middle-income countries (Brazil, 24,25 India, 26 Morocco, 27 and Egypt 28 ) (Table 1). 29 The vast majority of the institutions in these studies were academic or university affiliated (70%).…”

“…Three publications described targeting multiple healthcare professional learners. 18,23,24 The common topics covered were blood administration (n = 18), transfusion reactions (n = 13), laboratory practices (n = 10), hemovigilance (n = 5), and patient blood management (PBM) (n = 5). Other topics appeared less frequently, such as blood component production, massive hemorrhage, and reversal of anticoagulation, which were only covered once or twice each (Table 2).…”

“…There were four publications assessed which reported either patient or PBM specific outcomes as a result of e-learning (Kirkpatrick Level 4). 9,15,24,30 These reported positive impact on outcomes, such as a reduction in blood component ordering and transfusion rates, improved traceability, and improvement in perinatal outcomes related to postpartum hemorrhage. Brunetta et al evaluated the impact of its social media learning program and reported a reduction in RBC transfusions, and an increase in singleunit RBC used after introducing the social media program.…”