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On the Value of Social Media in Health Care

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Abstract

The advent and diffusion of modern technologies have triggered the widespread adoption of social media by hospitals and medical clinics. Despite the increasing use of social media, its use cases in health care settings and the value proposition of each use case are yet to be explicated. To address this issue, this qualitative study explores the value of social media in health care. Relevant data were collected through semi-structured interviews with participants at 11 Australian hospitals and medical clinics. Common themes expressed by participants were identified through a thematic analysis of the transcripts. The findings revealed nine use cases of social media in health care: engaging in professional networking, harnessing patient feedback, promoting public health, educating professionals, educating patients, engaging with the public, crowdsourcing, conducting research, and patient collaboration. Furthermore, this study found that hospitals and medical clinics are not passive users of social media; rather, they make conscious decisions regarding whether, when, and how to use social media. Although social media can likely support various activities in health care settings, its value proposition for hospitals and medical clinics varies depending on the use case. Understanding such use cases and the value proposition in each use case will help more hospitals and medical clinics to incorporate social media strategically.

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Notes

  1. Approval was received in August 2017 from the Federation University Australia’s Human Research Ethics Committee.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship through Federation University Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Informatics and Applied Optimisation, Federation University Australia, Level 1, T Building, University Drive, Ballarat, VIC, 3350, Australia

    Chukwuma Ukoha & Andrew Stranieri

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  1. Chukwuma Ukoha
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Correspondence to Chukwuma Ukoha.

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Federation University Australia’s Ethics committee approved the study. See manuscript for details.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Considerations

Before the interviews, all potential interviewees were allowed to read about and consent to participate in the research. See manuscript for details.

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Ukoha, C., Stranieri, A. On the Value of Social Media in Health Care. J. technol. behav. sci. 6, 419–426 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-020-00182-3

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