Social Media Acceptance and Utilization among Health-care Professionals of Bhopal City

Abstract

Introduction: Every day, billions of people visit social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. It is not surprising that many people have been using social media to share their health experiences or discover more about their medical issues given the popularity of these websites. Family doctors are in a unique position to give precise information on a variety of health-related topics. The study’s objective was also to understand how health professionals perceive and use social media to provide better patient care. Methodology: This study was a cross-sectional questionnaire conducted among health-care practitioners of Bhopal city, recruited from government and private hospitals. A pilot study was done for the questionnaire. The study was conducted from March 2022 to April 2022. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS software. Data analysis included Chi-square test was applied to find any significant difference in the variable between the groups. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 353 responses were received. 53.3% of the participants were specialists (MD/MS), and 46.7% were general practitioners. The majority (55.3%) of health-care professionals used Facebook as their most common social media platform. On social media, 64.3% of doctors follow other doctors. Specialists who posted on social media regarding the cases were 52.1%, whereas only 7.2% of the general physicians posted them which was highly significant. Conclusion: It is our responsibility as health-care professionals to learn how to use social media platforms effectively so that we may communicate with our patients, colleagues, professional organizations, and regulatory authorities in an ethical and professional manner.