Abstract
BackgroundApproximately 80% of research evidence relevant to clinical practice never reaches the clinicians delivering patient care. A key barrier for the translation of evidence into practice is the limited time and skills clinicians have to find and appraise emerging evidence. Social media may provide a bridge between health researchers and health service providers.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of social media as an educational medium to effectively translate emerging research evidence into clinical practice.MethodsThe study used a mixed-methods approach. Evidence-based practice points were delivered via social media platforms. The primary outcomes of attitude, knowledge, and behavior change were assessed using a preintervention/postintervention evaluation, with qualitative data gathered to contextualize the findings.ResultsData were obtained from 317 clinicians from multiple health disciplines, predominantly from the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, India, and Malaysia. The participants reported an overall improvement in attitudes toward social media for professional development (P<.001). The knowledge evaluation demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge after the training (P<.001). The majority of respondents (136/194, 70.1%) indicated that the education they had received via social media had changed the way they practice, or intended to practice. Similarly, a large proportion of respondents (135/193, 69.9%) indicated that the education they had received via social media had increased their use of research evidence within their clinical practice.ConclusionsSocial media may be an effective educational medium for improving knowledge of health professionals, fostering their use of research evidence, and changing their clinical behaviors by translating new research evidence into clinical practice.
Highlights
Greater accessibility to the Internet and mobile technologies has seen unprecedented opportunities for populations to access health information, and for health professionals to access new knowledge
One of the key barriers for the translation of evidence from demonstrated benefit into practice is the limited time available for clinicians to search for, and appraise, emerging evidence [4]. This raises the issue of whether social media could provide a bridge between health researchers and health service providers, allowing researchers to directly message peer-reviewed findings to clinicians, and for clinicians to receive the messages on their Web-enabled devices at the point of care [5,6]
Change in Participant Attitudes to Social Media and Participation (Kirkpatrick’s Level 1) The participants reported an overall improvement in attitudes toward social media for professional development using total scores for the Social Media Use and Perception Instrument (SMUPI), with improved attitudes reported for seven out of the 10 scale items (Table 2)
Summary
Greater accessibility to the Internet and mobile technologies has seen unprecedented opportunities for populations to access health information, and for health professionals to access new knowledge. One of the key barriers for the translation of evidence from demonstrated benefit into practice is the limited time available for clinicians to search for, and appraise, emerging evidence [4] This raises the issue of whether social media could provide a bridge between health researchers and health service providers, allowing researchers to directly message peer-reviewed findings to clinicians, and for clinicians to receive the messages on their Web-enabled devices at the point of care [5,6]. Conclusions: Social media may be an effective educational medium for improving knowledge of health professionals, fostering their use of research evidence, and changing their clinical behaviors by translating new research evidence into clinical practice
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