Evolving use of social media among Chinese urologists: Opportunity or challenge?

Abstract

Background: Social media has revolutionized the way people communicate, and it has been widely incorporated into medical practice. However, limited data are available regarding the use of social media by Chinese urologists in their practice.

Methods: From 2014 to 2016, during the China Urological Association's (CUA) Annual National Minimally Invasive Urology Academic Conference, an anonymous survey on social media usage was distributed to participant urologists.

Results: The results of the survey, which was completed by 665 participants, indicate a conspicuous increase in social media use during the last three years. Regression analysis showed that year (2014 compared to 2016 and 2015), institute location (in the eastern region of China) and age (<35 y) were independent predictors of social media use. Rather than for personal use, an increasing number of respondents said they used social media for professional purposes, and for most respondents, social media has had a positive impact on their practice. However, when posting information on social media, few respondents were aware of the issue of protecting patients' privacy.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a dramatic increase in social media use among Chinese urologists, which provides great opportunities for online academic communication and medical education. However, unprofessional use of social media in the medical practice may bring about potential risks and challenges for the further development of social media in medical practice.

Fig 1

(a) The percentage of respondents using social media increased each year (p<0.001). (b) The frequency with which respondents posted messages on their social media accounts also increased each year (p = 0.001). (c) How social media accounts were used, whether professionally or personally.

Fig 2

(a) Regarding the professional use of social media, the percentage of respondents using social media in medical education or communication with colleagues or seek medical information increased dramatically each year (p<0.001), while the percentage of respondents using social media to communicate did not change much over the three years. (b) In academic communication over social media, respondents were more willing to share and pass on information than to provide original information.

Fig 3. For most respondents, during the last three years, social media has had a positive impact on their practice.