Empowering Global Hematology-Oncology Education: Assessing the Impact of a 1.5-Year Virtual Platform in Combating Miseducation & Inequity

Abstract

Introduction Social media has revolutionized the global sharing of knowledge, with 77.4% of cancer patients relying on it as their primary medical information resource, especially in resource-limited regions (Ponce et alJCO). However, due to its rapid and unregulated nature, 1/3 of social media posts contain misinformation, with 76.9% of them containing harmful information leading to adverse outcomes. To address this, MedNews Week (MNW), a digital medical education platform dedicated to combating misinformation, was developed to contribute to global hematology-oncology education through its free programming. The Keynote Conference Lecture Series features live virtual presentations from oncology's premier global leaders discussing the latest developments in the field before a mainstream global audience. The aim of this study was to assess the worldwide reach and impact of this virtual oncology education platform. Methods From January 2022 to July 2023, MNW hosted 15 global hematology-oncology leaders (Mean H-index = 73.2) as Keynote Speakers. Viewership, impressions, and outreach data were collected from MNW's social media accounts, Symplur and TweepMaps. Data was analyzed to assess MNW's global viewership, reach, and engagement and stratified based on engagement sentiment, gender, age group, and occupation. Results In 2022, MNW produced a Healthcare Social Graph Score of 92.77%, placing it in the top 7.33 percentile of global healthcare influencers. Over a 12-month period, MNW generated more than 109,128 Twitter impressions with 4,731 engagements, reaching 1.9 million accounts globally ( Figure 1a). A large proportion of followers (73.44%) were from non-healthcare fields with slightly more males than females. The viewership showed a linear exponential increase from 20,527 (6 months) to 50,707 (1 Year) to 290,532 (1.5 Years) ( Figure 1b). The platform's outreach spanned over 150 cities and 70 countries, with 23 of these countries categorized as low-to-middle socioeconomic regions ( Figure 1c). Conclusion Given MNW's performance, it provides a novel model for engaging and disseminating medical information while attracting and sustaining a diverse, global, and growing audience. The platform's ability to spotlight the work of global leaders in the field, free of charge, particularly in lower SE regions, offers a promising approach to combat hematology-oncology educational inequity. Thus, MNW presents an opportunity to inspire audiences worldwide to be proactive, well-informed, and engaged, while narrowing the divide in oncology education.