Effect of Age on Gynecologic Patients’ Use of Social Media for Women’s Health Information [A84

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Over the last decade, social media platforms have become a major source of health information. We aimed to determine prevalence of social media usage for women’s health information, timing of usage, and perceived benefit among general gynecologic patients. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of patients presenting to one US academic gynecology clinic, distributing an anonymous 15-question survey over a 3-week period in spring 2021. The Albany Medical Center Institutional Review Board determined this study to be exempt. We calculated descriptive statistics and used chi-square testing to compare patients of reproductive age (< 50 years) and non-reproductive age (≥50 years). RESULTS: Of 377 who completed the survey (91.3% response rate), 259 (68.7%) were reproductive aged and 333 (88.3%) used social media. Most respondents use social media to learn about women’s health (57.0%), believe women’s health information should be available on social media (92.4%), and find social media helpful in making health decisions (58.5%), without differences by age group. Older patients are more likely than their reproductive-aged counterparts to actively search for women’s health information rather than passively finding it on a feed (52.2% vs. 36.8%, P=.024), to use social media for health information specifically around doctor’s visits (52.8% vs. 28.6%, P<.001), and to only trust health information from medical professionals rather than non-medical individuals (85.5% vs. 71.6%, P=.015). CONCLUSION: Social media is ubiquitous, with different usage patterns by patient age. Understanding how different groups find and determine trustworthiness of health information on social media can facilitate creation of accessible, medically accurate, and patient-friendly content.