Social media as an open-learning resource in medical education: current perspectives

Figures & data

Table 1 Literature review process

Step	Description
Identified and downloaded documents	Searched the literature for the period of January 1 2012 to January 1, 2017 in the following databases: MEDLINE, ERIC, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Keywords used in the empirical review included: “social media”, “medical education”, and “evaluation”. Found 406 entries; SS reviewed all entries and identified 128 for further consideration.
Inclusion criteria and selected documents that met the criteria	Developed and applied inclusion criteria that the studies had to 1) be reported in peer-reviewed journals, 2) be published within the five-year time period (2012–2017), 3) report on empirical data with descriptions of study methods, and 4) authors must be conducting an evaluation or research regarding social media and open-learning resources. Identified 13 articles that met inclusion criteria.
Identified and coded appropriate information; analyzed the information	Studies were coded for 1) research design and data collection methods, 2) medical speciality, 3) target population, and 4) study outcomes.

Table 2 Descriptive characteristics of empirical evaluative studies

Study	Sample	Context	Methods	Purpose evaluation/research question(s)	Main findings
Alotaibi et al^Citation12	Social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube)	Focus on patient quality of life and psychosocial well-being. Use of social media for support and education	Mixed-method. Data extracted from social media platforms and thematic analysis on online communications	Evaluate current use of social media communication regarding brain aneurysms	Facebook is the most widely used medium among ruptured/un-ruptured brain aneurysm patients. Facebook accounts were all non-profit foundations or patient support groups. The majority of users in Facebook were joining private support groups as opposed to public
Azer^Citation13	235 YouTube videos identified using search terms: “surface anatomy”, “anatomy body painting”, “living anatomy”, “bone landmarks” and “dermatomes”	Saudi Arabian medical students learning of surface anatomy, problem-based learning environment	Search YouTube with keywords related to learning surface anatomy	Assess sample of YouTube videos covering surface anatomy	YouTube is an inadequate source of information for learning surface anatomy. More work is needed from medical schools/educators to add useful videos on YouTube
Camm et al^Citation14	YouTube queries related to heart sound/murmurs/conditions	Educational value of YouTube videos, undergraduate medical learning, UK	Search YouTube with keywords related to cardiac auscultation	Assess the quality of videos relating to heart sounds and murmurs contained on YouTube. Search terms: “heart murmur”, “heart sounds”, “heart auscultation”. Quality was assessed for audiovisual quality, teaching quality, comprehensiveness, and file metrics	The quality of videos found was highly variable. YouTube indications of preference were of no value in determining video content. Teaching institutions/professional societies should endeavor to identify and highlight good online teaching resources
Hennessy et al^Citation22	Undergraduate medical students, Year 2	Engagement with neuro-anatomy content, UK, medical school	Mixed method, survey and focus group	Evaluate if Twitter supports students learning neuroanatomy. Students asked to use hashtag NLM2 and develop it as they preferred. Conducted post module analysis of hashtag use	Negligible correlation between Twitter engagement and exam performance, suggesting that the use of Twitter in this context is limited to enhancing the student experience rather than improving knowledge
Mahoney et al^Citation17	Low socio-economic status, African Americans, stratified by age group. Recruited from urban primary care medical offices	Research on social media, smoking cessation Strategies in upstate New York (Buffalo and Niagara Falls)	Qualitative, ten focus groups	Investigate patient perceptions of smoking cessation strategies via social media (e.g., Facebook, instant messaging, texting, cell phone to access social media)	There exist variation in preferences for smoking cessation support among younger and older patients. Younger patients preferred to use Facebook and texts, older patients preferred pre-recorded messages from their doctors to their cell phones
Pant et al^Citation7	YouTube queries related to acute myocardial infarction	Educational accuracy and credibility of YouTube videos, US undergraduate medical students	Search YouTube with keywords related to myocardia infarction	Assess the credibility of YouTube video information on acute myocardial infarction by exploring the relationship between accuracy of information on the topic, source of expertise, and perceived credibility of the message	The information on the YouTube platform is not regulated and can easily mislead those seeking it. Authoritative videos should come from reputable sources such as professional societies and/or academic institutions
Pearson et al^Citation18	Emergency medicine residents and faculty, US medical school	Emergency medicine use of social media in academic medical centers	Quantitative 18 question email survey	Assess patterns of social media use for personal and professional purposes among emergency medicine residents and faculty	Emergency medicine residents and faculty have different patterns and interests in their personal and professional uses of social media. Overall, residents used social media sites more frequently than faculty, notably in daily personal use
Raikos and Waidyasekara^Citation15	Undergraduate medical students	Assess quality and quantity of educational videos (via YouTube), Australian student learning	Mixed method	Assess availability and usefulness of YouTube for learning heart anatomy. Developed scoring system to include: Anatomical Content Score (ACS), General Quality Score (GQS), and General Data (GD)	Difficult to determine high educational value. Most cadaveric videos were recorded by students using their portable mobile devices, thus a poor cinematography and image quality was observed. This reflected a poor mean GQS of cadaver videos
Strausburg et al^Citation19	618 third and fourth year undergraduate medical students, Indiana University School of Medicine	US residency application processes, undergraduate medical schools	Quantitative email survey	Evaluate medical students’ behavior regarding online social networks in preparing for the residency matching process	The majority of students planned to (or did) alter their online profiles in preparation for the residency match process. This study implies that the more medical students perceive that residency directors use social media in application screening processes, the more they will alter their online profiles to adapt to protect their professional persona
Thalluri and Penman^Citation20	First and second year medical radiation students, and second year nursing students	Pathology and clinical sciences learning, Australian medical school	Engaged students in Facebook activity, then conducted postintervention questionnaire	Investigate the success of Facebook as an educational tool for a pathology course for medical students and a clinical sciences course for nursing students	Both student cohorts found the use of Facebook beneficial in terms of providing an innovative way of learning, fostering greater interaction amongst co-students and staff, and effectively engaging them with the content of courses
Wang et al^Citation21	539 Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine CME Participants	US continuing medical education, internal medicine physicians	Quantitative cross-sectional survey	Determine CME course participants’ use of social media and their attitudes about the value of social media for enhancing CME education	Most respondents reported using social media, with YouTube and Facebook as the most common types. More favourable attitudes towards social media were found with the younger ages. Study suggests CME directors should guide social media strategies toward more youthful, technology savvy CME participants
Walton et al^Citation23	152 third and fourth year undergraduate medical students	Alberta, Canada medical school	3-Intervention phase study (review student Facebook profiles, give lecture on professionalism, evaluate profiles for altered privacy settings	Examine the Internet presence of a graduating medical school class by scanning students’ public Facebook profiles, and incorporating this data into an educational activity addressing professionalism and social media, then evaluate the impact of the activity on student behavior	A small but significant portion of students share potentially unprofessional content on social media. An interactive educational intervention, which includes specific disclosure of how participants appear to others on social media resulted in significant change in student behavior
Whittaker et al^Citation16	Undergraduate science students	Online learning communities of practice, within cohort study	Qualitative assessment of Facebook posts	Explore the success of Facebook as a tool for the formation of an online community	Facebook is viewed as a promising tool to establish an online educational community, particularly for undergraduate science students

Abbreviation: CME, continuing medical education.

AlotaibiNMSamuelNWangJThe use of social media communications in brain aneurysms and subarachnoid hemorrhage: a mixed-method analysisWorld Neurosurg20179845646227890750

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

AzerSCan “YouTube” help students in learning surface anatomy?Surg Radiol Anat201234546546822278703

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

CammCFSunderlandNCammJAA quality assessment of cardiac auscultation material on YouTubeClin Cardiol2013362778123172251

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

HennessyCMKirkpatrickESmithCFBorderSSocial media and anatomy education: using Twitter to enhance the student learning experience in anatomyAnat Sci Educ20169650551527059811

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

MahoneyMCErwinDOWidmanCFormative evaluation of a practice-based smoking cessation program for diverse populationsHealth Educ Behav201441218619624281699

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

PantSDeshmukhAMurugiahKKumarGSachdevaRMehtaJLAssessing the credibility of the “YouTube approach” to health information on acute myocardial infarctionClin Cardiol201235528128522487995

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

PearsonDBondMCKeggJEvaluation of social media use by emergency medicine residents and facultyWest J Emerg Med2015165713720

 Google Scholar

RaikosAWaidyasekaraPHow useful is YouTube in learning heart anatomy?Anat Sci Edu2014711218

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

StrausburgMBDjuricichAMCarlosWGBossletGTThe influence of the residency application process on the online social networking behavior of medical students: a single institutional studyAcad Med201388111707171224072117

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

ThalluriJPenmanJSocial media for learning and teaching undergraduate sciences: good practice guidelines from interventionElectron J e-Learn2015136455465

 Google Scholar

WangATSandhuNPWittichCMMandrekarJNBeckmanTJUsing social media to improve continuing medical education: a survey of course participantsMayo Clin Proc201287121162117023141117

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

WaltonJMWhiteJRossSWhat’s on YOUR Facebook profile? Evaluation of an educational intervention to promote appropriate use of privacy settings by medical students on social networking sitesMed Educ Online20152028708

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

WhittakerALHowarthGSLymnKAEvaluation of Facebook© to create an online learning community in an undergraduate animal science classEduc Media Int2014512135145

 Google Scholar