WeChat Official Account Research Articles

Introduction of social media to aid active-learning in medical teaching

ABSTRACTWeChat is one of the most popular social media mobile apps in China. WeChat was introduced to the course of Introduction to Human Health and Disease, as an instant interactive platform to enhance students’ learning. Over a period of two years, a WeChat official account (OA) was set up and 157 push notifications were sent per semester. The push notifications included course notices, pre-class thought questions, after-class study materials, simulation exercises, teacher–student interactions, feedback and questions, and research progress relevant to the course. WeChat OA served as an active-learning teaching tool, accelerated further advancement of instant feedback and improvement in teaching activities, improved student-centered communication, and resulted in a high degree of student satisfaction.

Evaluating an Intervention Program Using WeChat for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundThe application of telemedicine in home pulmonary rehabilitation interventions for the management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has achieved promising results.ObjectiveThis study aimed to develop a WeChat official account (Pulmonary Internet Explorer Rehabilitation [PeR]) based on social media. It further evaluated the effect of PeR on the quality of life, symptoms, and exercise self-efficacy of patients with COPD.MethodsThe functional modules of PeR were developed by a multidisciplinary team according to the electronic health–enhanced chronic care model (eCCM) components. A total of 106 patients were randomly selected (53 in the PeR group and 53 in the outpatient face-to-face group [FtF]). Pulmonary rehabilitation intervention was conducted for 3 months, and the outcome was observed for 3 months. The primary outcome was patient quality of life measured with the COPD assessment test (CAT). The secondary outcomes were evaluated using the modified Medical Research Council scale (mMRC), exercise self-regulatory efficacy scale (Ex-SRES), and St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ).ResultsThe intention-to-treat analysis was used in the study. A total of 94 participants completed the 6-month pulmonary rehabilitation program. No statistically significant differences were observed in CAT (F1,3=7.78, P=.001), Ex-SRES (F1,3=21.91, P<.001), and mMRC scores (F1,3=29.64, P<.001) between the two groups with the variation in time tendency. The Ex-SRES score had a significant effect on the CAT score (P=.03). The partial regression coefficient of Ex-SRES to CAT was 0.81, and Exp (B) was 2.24.ConclusionsThe telemedicine technology was effective using the eCCM combined with a behavioral intervention strategy centering on self-efficacy. Pulmonary rehabilitation at home through PeR and FtF could improve the sense of self-efficacy and quality of life and alleviate symptoms in patients with COPD.Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1900022770; https://tinyurl.com/tmmvpq3

More than playfulness

AbstractThis study aims to uncover the complexity of emoji usage on Chinese social media. We investigate emoji usage in comments on push notifications from the WeChat official account ofGuokr, which was chosen as a representative for an open forum for public communication. The data includes 2,552 comments from 90 articles pushed by the account. The analysis adopts a discourse-pragmatic perspective within the framework of intercultural pragmatics (Kecskes 2014), taking into account both the local discourse environment and the cultural context. It is found that Chinese WeChat users show a preference for using emojis that are unique to the WeChat platform. Qualitative analyses were carried out on selected WeChat emojis used in comments fulfilling the speech acts of self-disclosure, self-praise, humor and complaining. Emojis are found to be used to perform and reinforce a sense of playfulness in social media, but underlying this playfulness there is a discursive conformity to social norms in real life. The use of emojis resolves the tension between the openness and freedom in social media and the conservative, constraint-bounded nature of established social norms.

Study on Mobile Learning Mode Based on WeChat Official Account in Medical Universities in Minority Areas

In the era of Internet plus, thanks to the popularity of mobile terminals, it is quick and convenient for people to get information and knowledge. The mobile learning mode of WeChat official account assisted teaching provides students with an independent learning platform, which combines information technology and classroom teaching. As an expansion and extension of the traditional classroom, it can cultivate the independent learning ability of students and promoted students to change from “passive learning” to “active learning”. Taking WeChat official account as an example, we will explore the teaching mode of “Internet plus Education” and discuss the construction of learner-centered, online and offline education ecology based on WeChat official account. In addition, we hope to provide some reference for the teaching reform of “Internet plus Education” mode in our country.

Exploration on the Application of WeChat Official Accounts Platform in the Teaching Reform of Analytical Chemistry in Medical Universities

Objective: To construct a teaching mode based on WeChat Official Accounts Platform and to discuss its teaching effect in analytical chemistry courses in medical colleges and universities. Methods: The teaching mode based on WeChat Official Accounts Platform is used to teach the experimental subjects. After the course, the teaching effect is evaluated by questionnaire survey. Results: The experimental subjects are satisfied with the learning effect of the new teaching mode and have a good learning experience. Conclusion: The teaching mode and teaching form based on WeChat Official Accounts Platform are novel, which can improve students’ interest in learning, increase their initiative in learning and advance their self-learning ability, and help to upgrade the teaching effect of analytical chemistry in medical universities.

A symbolic interactionism perspective of using social media for personal and business communication

Achieving the anticipated business benefits of a social medium is important as organizations diligently invest in different social media platforms. While much previous research assumes that social media helps organizations to communicate with customers, less is known about whether customers embrace using social media to interact with organizations. It is important to understand the role of social media for business communication from the customers’ perspective, as this may significantly deviate from the organizations’ own communicative intentions. In this exploratory case study of the Moon Struck hotel in China, we investigate both how customers interpret the hotel’s use of WeChat official account for business communication and how customers respond to messages received from Moon Struck’s WeChat account. Adopting a symbolic interactionism perspective, we surprisingly find that WeChat personal accounts and Moon Struck’s official account offer radically different meanings to followers. Specifically, WeChat personal account symbolizes a sociality-oriented meaning (e.g., relationship and image building), while Moon Struck’s WeChat official account symbolizes information broadcasting-related meaning (e.g., selling, advertising, and branding). Both technological features and the distance of relationships among users contribute to the constructed symbolic meaning of technology, subsequently affecting users’ WeChat use patterns. The theoretical implications of this study are discussed and recommendations are made for future research and practice.

Understanding the Function Constitution and Influence Factors on Communication for the WeChat Official Account of Top Tertiary Hospitals in China: Cross-Sectional Study.

BackgroundWidespread adoption and continued developments in mobile health care technologies have led to the improved accessibility and quality of medical services. In China, WeChat, an instant messaging and social networking app released by the company Tencent, has developed a specific type of user account called WeChat official account (WOA), which is now widely adopted by hospitals in China. It enables health care providers to connect with local citizens, allowing them to, among other actions, send regular updates through mass circulation. However, with the diversity in function provided by WOA, little is known about its major constitution as well as the influence factors on the WeChat communication index (WCI). The WCI has been widely used in social media impact ranking with various types of WeChat content to fully reflect the dissemination and coverage of tweets as well as the maturity and impact of WOA.ObjectiveThere are two typical WOAs available to users, namely, WeChat subscription account (WSSA) and WeChat service account (WSVA). The biggest difference between them is the frequency of messages transmitted. This study aimed to explore the function constitution of WSVA adopted by top tertiary hospitals in China and the major contributors of the WCI score.MethodsA total of 681 top tertiary hospitals were selected from the Hospital Quality Monitoring System; the WOA of every top tertiary hospital was retrieved in the WeChat app. We divided core functional items of WSVAs using categorical principal component analysis. To elicit the factors that influenced the use of WSVA, quantile regression was employed to analyze the WCI score.ResultsFrom the 668 WOAs identified, adoption of WSVAs (543/668, 81.3%) was more than that of WSSAs (125/668, 18.7%). Functional items of WSVAs were categorized into four clusters: (1) hospital introduction, (2) medical services, (3) visiting assistants, and (4) others. With regard to the influence factors on the WCI, the impact of the activity index of WSVA and the total visiting number of outpatients and emergencies on WCI were statistically significant and positive in all quantiles. However, the year of certification, the type of hospital, the year of public hospital reform, and the number of beds merely affected the WCI at some quantiles.ConclusionsOur findings are considered helpful to tertiary hospitals in developing in-depth functional items that improve patient experience. The tertiary hospitals should take full advantage of times of posting and provide high-quality tweets to meet the various needs of patients.

The effectiveness of using a WeChat account to improve exclusive breastfeeding in Huzhu County Qinghai Province, China: protocol for a randomized control trial

BackgroundAn exclusive breastfeeding rate in the first 6 months of life of at least 50% is one of the six World Health Organization global nutrition targets for 2025. However, the exclusive breastfeeding rate in China is quite low and decreasing which makes it urgent to explore effective ways to reverse the current downward trend. As mobile technologies have rapidly developed, mobile communication apps such as WeChat (one of the largest social networking platforms in China) are well accepted and have the potential to improve health behaviors in a convenient way. The current paper describes the study protocol of a WeChat intervention that aims to promote breastfeeding in rural areas in China.MethodsThe study is designed as a randomized controlled trial in rural Qinghai Province, China. Women who are 14–36 weeks pregnant will be randomized to routine antenatal and postnatal care, or routine care plus the WeChat breastfeeding education. pregnant women with a severe disease and complications of pregnancy or HIV-1 will be excluded. Breastfeeding knowledge and promotion information will be delivered to the intervention group through a WeChat official account from 3 months pregnancy to 6 months postpartum. The outcome assessments are conducted at baseline through face-to-face interviews, and at one week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months postpartum by telephone interviews. The primary outcome is difference in the exclusive breastfeeding rate at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum between the intervention group and the control group. Secondary outcomes include the overall duration of any and exclusive breastfeeding across the first 6 months postpartum; mothers’ knowledge of breastfeeding; the proportion of early initiation of breastfeeding; and the timing of the introduction of solid food to infants. Intention-to-treat-analysis will be used. Survival analysis will be used to compare the overall duration of any and exclusive breastfeeding between groups.DiscussionThis study is the first effort to promote exclusive breastfeeding through WeChat in China. Our results will provide scientific evidence for the effect of health education through WeChat on breastfeeding. Thereby this may offer a comprehensive intervention to promote exclusive breastfeeding in China and other settings.Trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry –ChiCTR1800017364. Registered 26 July 2018. http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=29325

银屑病患者疾病负担和生存质量调查：基于网络的问卷调查

Objective To investigate direct and indirect economic burden, psychological impact, and quality of life in patients with psoriasis. Methods Patients with were recruited nationwide from patient mutual assistance network , a WeChat official account of psoriasis patient mutual assistance platform , and WeChat groups of patients in different regions between July and September in 2018. An internet-based online questionnaire survey was carried out on these patients by using a self-designed questionnaire and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scale. Comparison of enumeration data was carried out by using chi-square test, and comparison of measurement data by using Mann-Whitney U test. Results A total of 497 valid questionnaires were collected, and 497 patients with were enrolled into this survey, including 190 patients with mild to moderate and 307 patients with severe psoriasis. These patients were from 8 geographic regions of China, and mainly in east China and north China. The total annual expenditure for per patient accounted for 20% (8%, 50%) (M[P25, P75]) of the total annual income, the annual hospitalization rate was 21.3%, the annual sick leave or absence duration was 15.0 (1.0, 40.0) days, and the unemployment rate due to was 37.0%. Of the 497 patients, 443 (89.1%) suffered from mental stress due to psoriasis, 169 (34.0%) had suicide intention, and 23 (4.6%) had ever attempted suicide. The DLQI score for all the patients was 14 (8, 19) , 307 (61.8%) patients reported a severe or extremely severe impact on the quality of life (DLQI > 10, severe group) , and 190 (38.2%) patients reported a mild or moderate impact on the quality of life (0 ≤ DLQI ≤ 10, mild to moderate group) . Compared with the mild to moderate group, the severe group showed a significantly higher ratio of total annual expenditure to total annual income (30% vs. 10.0%, P < 0.01) , hospitalization rate (26.4% vs. 13.2%, P < 0.01) , annual sick leave or absence duration (20.0 days vs. 5.5 days, P < 0.01) , unemployment rate (47.9% vs. 19.5%, P < 0.01) , proportion of patients with mental stress (99.0% vs. 73.2%, P < 0.01) , proportion of patients with suicide intention (46.3% vs. 14.2%, P < 0.01) and proportion of patients who had suicide behavior (6.8% vs. 1.1%, P < 0.01) . Conclusions Psoriasis imposes heavy economic and psychological burden on patients, and decreases their quality of life. Meanwhile, patients with severely or extremely severely affected quality of life have higher disease burden compared with those with mildly to moderately affected quality of life. Key words: Psoriasis; Sickness impact profile; Quality of life; Economic burden; Psychological burden

Perception and self-management of hypertension in Chinese cardiologists (CCHS): a multicenter, large-scale cross-sectional study

ObjectivesTo determine the frequency of risk factors for hypertension among Chinese cardiologists using a nation-wide survey.DesignMulticenter, cross-sectional observational study.Setting2441 hospitals across China were surveyed between September 2016 and August 2017.ParticipantsAll...

Application and evaluation of mobile device-based continuous breastfeeding intervention program

Objective To investigate the effects of a mobile application-based continuous breastfeeding intervention program for gravidas. Methods Pregnant women who received prenatal care and delivered at First Maternity and Infant Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University were enrolled in this quasi-experiment from April 1 to May 31, 2017. Those women who met the inclusion criteria in the Eastern and Southern campuses of the hospital were recruited as intervention group (n=100) and control (n=100) group, respectively. In addition to the routine breastfeeding support which the control group was offered only, the intervention group also received mobile application-based continuous breastfeeding intervention, namely a questionnaire was sent through WeChat official account where the pregnant women had free access to continuous breastfeeding support based on their survey results, such as understanding the benefits of breastfeeding at the first trimester, relationships between breastfeeding and immunity at the second trimester, breast care at the third trimester, treatment of milk spillage/spit during labor, and iron and vitamin supplementation at puerperium. Basic information about the participants, results of Breastfeeding Knowledge Questionnaires administered at the first, second and third trimesters and during labor and the puerperium, responses to Self-efficacy of Breastfeeding Questionnaires during labor and the puerperium, and exclusive breastfeeding rates at discharge and 42 d postpartum were compared between the two groups using two independent sample t-test and Chi-square test. Results There were 83 and 80 pregnant women in the intervention group and control group finally analyzed, respectively. No statistical difference in the scores of the Breastfeeding Knowledge Questionnaire at the first trimester was observed between the intervention group and control group (13.4±1.9 vs 13.3±1.9, t=0.133, P=0.895). However, the scores at the second and third trimesters and during labor and the puerperium in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group (14.1±1.3 vs 13.5±2.0, 14.7±1.1 vs 14.2±1.3, 15.3±1.7 vs 14.4±1.2 and 15.7±1.5 vs 14.9±1.0; t=2.160, 2.435, 4.104 and 3.946; all P<0.05), respectively. The scores of Self-efficacy of Breastfeeding Questionnaires during labor and the puerperium were also higher in the intervention group (123.5±4.7 vs 118.5±5.7 and 128.4±4.2 vs 119.0±6.5, t=6.170 and 10.959, both P<0.01). Compared to the control group, the intervention group had higher exclusive breastfeeding rate at discharge and on 42 d after delivery [78.3% (65/83) vs 61.2% (49/80), χ2=5.641; 57.8% (48/83) vs 38.8% (31/80), χ2=5.938; both P<0.05]. Conclusions The mobile application-based continuous breastfeeding intervention program may effectively improve breastfeeding outcomes. Key words: Breast feeding; Telemedicine; Clinical protocols; Validation studies

Design and implementation of WeChat high-value consumables management platform based on SPD concept

Enhancement of health management capability and resource utilization efficiency of hospitals has become an imperative need to deepen the healthcare reform.The high-value consumables are subject to point-to-point accurate tracking based on code scan, relying on the hospital′s WeChat official account for WeChat-based management.The WeChat platform enables the system to automatically push the preset procurement plan to the mobile terminal of the managers via the low-inventory alarm at the departments.On the other hand, vendors can use their own mobile terminals to receive in time the plans, query product inventory, and last month invoicing information.These measures facilitate the hospital management on high-value consumables. Key words: High-value consumables; Consumable management; WeChat

한국 패션브랜드의 위챗 공식계정에서 지각된 관계혜택이 브랜드 신뢰와 구전의도에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of WeChat "s characteristics on the perceived relationship benefits in WeChat"s official accountof Korean fashion brand, and also to grasp the influence of perceived relationship benefits on brand trust and word-of-mouth intention. The data on this study were collected with a questionnaire method in July, 2018 and 185 usable data were used for analysis. The subjects of this study were Chinese customers who have an experience with using a WeChat official account of Korean fashion brands. The collected data were carried out for factor analysis, independent sample t-test, and regression analysis by using SPSS Ver. 24.0 program. The result of this study is as follows. First, WeChat characteristics were classified into four factors such as usefulness, freshness, familiarity, and accessibility and three factors of relational benefits such as informative, psychological and economic benefit were extracted. Secondly, Four WeChat characteristics positively affected informative benefit. However, psychological benefit was influenced by only usefulness and familiarity, and familiarity was found to be the only characteristic of WeChat which had a significant effect on social benefit. Third, The three perceived relationship benefits in the Korean fashion brand account significantly influenced brand trust, but psychological benefit was not related to word-of-mouth intention.

Factors Influencing User Engagement of Health Information Disseminated by Chinese Provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on WeChat: Observational Study

BackgroundSocial media is currently becoming a new channel for information acquisition and exchange. In China, with the growing popularity of WeChat and WeChat official accounts (WOAs), health promotion agencies have an opportunity to use them for successful information distribution and diffusion online.ObjectiveWe aimed to identify features of articles pushed by WOAs of Chinese provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that are associated with user engagement.MethodsWe searched and subscribed to 28 WOAs of provincial CDCs. Data for this study consisted of WeChat articles on these WOAs between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. We developed a features frame containing title type, article content, article type, communication skills, number of marketing elements, and article length for each article and coded the data quantitatively using a coding scheme that assigned numeric values to article features. We examined the descriptive characteristics of articles for every WOA and generated descriptive statistics for six article features. The amount of reading and liking was converted into the level of reading and liking by the 75% position. Two-category univariate logistic regression and multivariable logistic regression were conducted to explore associations between the features of the articles and user engagement, operationalized as reading level and liking level.ResultsAll provincial CDC WOAs provided a total of 5976 articles in 2017. Shanghai CDC articles attracted the most user engagement, and Ningxia CDC articles attracted the least. For all articles, the median reading was 551.5 and the median liking was 10. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that article content, article type, communication skills, number of marketing elements, and article length were associated with reading level and liking level. However, title type was only associated with liking level.ConclusionsHow social media can be used to best achieve health information dissemination and public health outcomes is a topic of much discussion and study in the public health community. Given the lack of related studies based on WeChat or official accounts, we conducted this study and found that article content, article type, communication skills, number of marketing elements, article length, and title type were associated with user engagement. Our study may provide public health and community leaders with insight into the diffusion of important health topics of concern.

통합 미디어 시대의 중국의 광고 패턴 변천을 연구 -위챗 공식계정 광고를 중심으로-

중국은 세계에서 네티즌 수가 가장 많은 나라로 2018년 12월까지 중국의 네티즌 수는 8.29억 명에 이르다. 거대한 수요는 인터넷 시장의 번영을 촉진시키고, 중국 사람들의 인터넷의 활용이 급속히 늘어나면서 생활 방식에 큰 영향을 끼치고 있다. 특히 모바일 인터넷의 활용이 대두되면서 전통적인 매체의 활용이 전반적으로 쇠락하고, 미디어 매체는 휴대폰을 중심으로 하는 통합미디어 시대로 접어들었다.BR통합 미디어 시대의 정보 전파 방식은 이전과 큰 차이가 있다. 정보는 텍스트, 이미지, 비디오, 오디오 등 각종 형식의 내용을 포함 할 수 있고 정보의 전파 과정에서 전파자과 수용자는 실시간으로 교류할 수 있을 뿐만 아니라 실시간으로 피드백도 할 수 있다. 이때 정보의 내용과 형식은 전파의 과정에서 가장 중요한 영향 요소가 되었다.BR광고가 전파 패턴의 변화에 매우 민감하게 반응한다. 이로 인해 정보의 전파 방식의 변화는 광고의 내용과 형식을 바꾸었다. 본 연구에서 주로 통합 미디어 시대에서의 광고 패턴의 변화에 대하여 연구하고자 한다. 위챗 공식계정을 연구대상으로 삼아 시대별, 매체별 광고 패턴 특징을 연구할 것이다. 이 연구를 통해 통합 미디어 시대에서 광고 패턴 특징과 발전 법칙을 명확히 하고 기업의 소셜 미디어 콘텐츠의 개발과 브랜드 홍보에 이론적 기반을 제공하기를 기대한다.

Design of Informational Teaching Methods and Processes of Higher Vocational Curriculum—A Case Study of “Hotel Marketing” Course Unit

Teaching informationization is continuously promoted in the development of higher vocational education. Taking the “Marketing of Hotel WeChat Official Account “unit in the “Hotel Marketing” course as a case study, the design ideas, teaching contents, teaching methods and information technology are analyzed. Finally, the effect and enlightenment of information teaching are reflected.

An investigation of perceived value dimensions: Implications for mobile marketing research

This study proposes a framework to investigate the multiple dimensions of consumer value in the context of mobile marketing, to better understand the factors impacting on mobile consumer perceived value. We primarily conducted a series of interviews based on means-end chain theory and in line with the interviews of 179 WeChat official account subscribers. Then, three-step surveys are taken; after revision and testing, the proposed scale and the final six-dimensional model (MCPV scale) emerged. In addition, another study was conducted to validate the scale model, which takes mobile advertising effectiveness, attitudes towards the official account and loyalty towards the official account as consequences of MCPV. The MCPV scale was found to be both reliable and valid; it had significant influence on mobile advertising effectiveness, and it could serve as a framework for further empirical research in the mobile marketing settings. Lastly, theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

An investigation of perceived value dimensions: implications for mobile marketing research

This study proposes a framework to investigate the multiple dimensions of consumer value in the context of mobile marketing, to better understand the factors impacting on mobile consumer perceived value. We primarily conducted a series of interviews based on means-end chain theory and in line with the interviews of 179 WeChat official account subscribers. Then, three-step surveys are taken; after revision and testing, the proposed scale and the final six-dimensional model (MCPV scale) emerged. In addition, another study was conducted to validate the scale model, which takes mobile advertising effectiveness, attitudes towards the official account and loyalty towards the official account as consequences of MCPV. The MCPV scale was found to be both reliable and valid; it had significant influence on mobile advertising effectiveness, and it could serve as a framework for further empirical research in the mobile marketing settings. Lastly, theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

A clickstream data analysis of users' behavior on a government WeChat official account

ABSTRACTThis study took a user‐oriented approach to investigating the effectiveness of a government WeChat official account in terms of service delivery. A transaction log file containing 42,188,760 clickstream records was obtained from an active account and analyzed at the footprint and movement levels. The current clickstream data analysis revealed the underutilization of the services provided by the account, the failure of the three navigational portals, and the poor completion rates of the tasks users performed on the account.

政务微信公众号运维模式实践研究——以“广东省教育考试院”政务微信公众号为例

政务微信公众号运维模式实践研究——以“广东省教育考试院”政务微信公众号为例