Who’s Posting What? A Qualitative, Cross-Sectional Study Comparing Twitter and Instagram Patterns Between Health Care Professionals and Patients

Abstract

ImportanceThere is a paucity of evidence-based, physician-authored content available on social media. Data are lacking on physicians use of social media, including intended audience and content.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore the patterns of Twitter and Instagram use for popular urogynecology hashtags between physicians, patients, and allied health professionals (AHPs).Study DesignTwelve hashtags derived from the Urogynecology Tag Ontology project were used as search terms to select Twitter and Instagram posts. Up to 5 top posts per hashtag per author type (physician, patient, or AHP) were included. Posts were analyzed using Dedoose qualitative analytic software by author, hashtag, intended audience, and themes.ResultsOn Twitter, 109 posts met inclusion criteria: 41% written by physicians, 40% patients, and 18.3% AHPs. For Instagram, 72 posts were included: 50% written by patients, 39% AHPs, and 11% physicians. Twitter physician posts were mainly intended for health professionals (64%) with only 18% for patients. Patients posted to the general public (57%) and patients (36%). Instagram physician posts were intended for health professionals (49%), whereas 62% of AHPs posted to patients. Most patient posts were directed to other patients (90%). Physicians posted about academic peer discussions, medical education, and advocacy. Patients posted about personal experiences, treatments, or dissatisfaction.ConclusionsPhysicians are more likely to post on Twitter than Instagram, with content focused primarily on their peer group, and physicians/patients are unlikely to engage with each other. There is an opportunity to improve social media interactions between physicians and the public while increasing high-quality patient education.

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“…Twitter (now known as X) is one of the most well-known and widely used social media platforms and may be favored by physicians over other social media platforms 1 . Hashtags (a term or phrase preceded by the “#” symbol) are frequently used on these platforms and help signify that a post has content related to a specific subject.…”