Parental Views on the Role of Social Media in Pediatric Otolaryngology

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Parental Views on the Role of Social Media in Pediatric Otolaryngology Via otol rhinol Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2021 Aug 8:34894211037413. doi: 10.1177/00034894211037413. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Social media is playing an increasingly important role in medicine as a tool for patients and their families to find information and connect with others. The goal of this study is to understand parental views on if and how social media should be incorporated into pediatric otolaryngology by physicians and hospitals. METHODS: A survey was distr ibuted to parents of pediatric otolaryngologic patients to assess views on professional social media use by physicians and hospitals. The proportion of parents who answered with specific responses in the survey was computed using the SPSS frequency analysis function. RESULTS: One hundred five parents completed the survey. Ninety-six percent of respondents use social media, of which 92% use social media at least once a day (n = 93). Eighty-five percent of respondents said they definitely or probably would visit their physician's professional social media page (n = 90). Seventy-four percent would be interested in obtaining more information about the physician (n = 76). Forty-one percent would be interested in patient stories (n = 76). Twenty-eight percent would visit out of curiosity (n = 76). Twenty-six percent would want to gather more information about the hospital (n = 76). Seventeen percent would want to connect with other patients and their family members (n = 76). Sixty-s even percent of respondents believe it is important for physicians to have a professional social media page, and 79% of respondents believe it is important for hospitals to have a public social media page (n = 93). CONCLUSION: The vast majority of parents of pediatric otolaryngologic patients use social media regularly and would want to gather information about their physician and hospital through social media. Therefore, physicians and hospitals should consider using social media as a valuable tool to connect with and relay information to patients and their family members. PMID:34369201 | DOI:10.1177/0003489421 1037413 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.