Rationale and Objectives
Although it is perceived that the use of social media professionally is increasing among radiologists, little is known about the habits and demographics of this subspecialty. This study aims to compare radiologists who use social networking for professional purposes to those who do not with regard to their characteristics, habits, and attitudes.
Materials and Methods
Radiologists were invited by e-mail and through posts on social networks to participate in a survey on the use of social media platforms. Questions included type of user, pattern of use, and benefits and barriers. Professional users and professional nonusers were compared.
Results
One hundred eighty-six radiologists responded. One hundred ten (59.1%) used social networking for professional purposes, 34 (18.2%) for personal-use only, and 42 (22.6%) denied using social media. LinkedIn was the most common platform among all professional users, and Twitter was the most commonly used platform among highly active professional users. Trainees comprised 52 out of 110 (47.3%) professional social networking users compared to 18 out of 76 (23.7%) nonusers ( P < 0.01). A subgroup analysis on Twitter use for professional purposes revealed a significant gender difference: 15 out of 66 (22.7%) professional Twitter users were female compared to 48 out of 120 (40.0%) non-Twitter users ( P < 0.05). The greatest barrier to professional social media use for nonusers was confidentiality.
Conclusion
Nearly 60% of radiologist respondents use social networking for professional purposes. Radiology is likely to see growth in the role of social networking in the coming years as nearly half of professional users are radiology trainees. Twitter use for professional purposes among radiologists was disproportionately male. It is important to be cognizant of gender imbalance and to improve visibility of female leaders on social networking.
Introduction
Social networking in healthcare is a growing phenomenon . Early users were patients interacting with other patients in the form of online forums and automated mailing lists, known as listservs. Later patients and healthcare professionals used dedicated platforms for online social interaction, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Recently, physician-to-physician interaction on social networking is growing, with users finding benefits of obtaining education and news, following medical conferences, and sharing expertise, research, and opinions . The American Medical Association states that social networking can “support physicians’ personal expression, enable individual physicians to have a professional presence online, foster collegiality and camaraderie within the profession, provide opportunity to widely disseminate public health messages and other health communication” .
A 2011 survey of 4033 physicians by QuantiaMD found that physicians are highly engaged with social networks: 90% of physicians report personal use and 65% of physicians use social media for professional reasons . A later survey of Australian physicians by Brown et al. found that 74% used social media networks to some extent . None of these surveys queried use among specialties in medicine. There are no studies that describe the use of social networking among individual radiologists. Although professional social networking may offer advantages to all physicians, there are also specific reasons to understand the radiologists’ use of social networking.
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Methods
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Study Group
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Survey
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Table 1
Survey Questions
Defining the user Do you use social media? Which of the following social media services do you use for networking with friends and family (personal account)? Which of the following social media services do you use for networking with colleagues or for educational reasons (professional account)? Which best describes your social media accounts? Pattern of use How long have you used social media in a professional capacity? How would you characterize your usage of social media services for professional purposes? How would you characterize the amount of time spent on social media services for professional purposes? Benefits How have you used or benefited from social media professionally? Barriers What are some barriers to using social media for professional purposes? Radiologist characteristics What is your gender? To which “generation” described below do you consider yourself to belong? Where are you in your radiology career? What is your radiology practice type? What is your radiology subspecialty by fellowship or practice?
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Analysis of Survey Results
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Results
Study Group
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Table 2
Comparison of Users and Nonusers of Social Networking for Professional Purposes
All Users of Social Media for Professional Purposes Nonusers of Social Media for Professional Purposes_P_ Value 186 110 76 Gender 0.3045 Male 123(66.1%) 76(69.1%) 47(61.8%) Female 63(33.9%) 34(30.9%) 29(38.2%) Practice type 0.5303 Academic 119(64.0%) 72(65.5%) 47(61.8%) Private 37(19.9%) 23(20.9%) 14(18.4%) Combined 30(16.1%) 15(13.6%) 15(19.7%) Generation 0.0034 “The Greatest Generation” 0 “The Silent Generation” 0 “Baby Boomers” 39(21.0%) 16(14.5%) 23(30.3%) “Generation X” 85(45.7%) 48(43.6%) 37(48.7%) “Millennials/Generation Y” 62(33.3%) 46(41.8%) 16(21.1%) Career position 0.0086 Resident or Fellow 70(37.6%) 52(47.3%) 18(23.7%) In practice for <8 years 39(21.0%) 17(15.5%) 22(29.0%) In practice for 8–15 years 23(12.4%) 12(10.9%) 11(14.5%) In practice for >15 years 54(29.0%) 29(26.4%) 25(33.0%) Social media networks used for professional purposes LinkedIn 74(67.3%) Twitter 66(60.0%) Doximity 44(40.0%) Benefits of professional social media activity News from professional organizations 86(78.2%) Communicate with colleagues 69(62.3%) Scientific meetings 65(59.1%) Education 63(57.3%) Barriers to professional social media activity Not enough time 99(53.2%) 57(51.8%) 42(55.3%) Concerns over confidentiality 78(41.9%) 32(27.0% 46(60.5%) Concerns over unprofessional stigma 56(30.1%) 25(21.0%) 31(40.1%) Unfamiliarity with technical aspects 43(23.1%) 15(12.6%) 28(36.8%) Social media activity Consume only 27(24.5%) Consume and rarely contribute 49(44.5%) Consume and frequently contribute 34(30.9%)
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Comparison of Users and Nonusers of Professional Social Networking
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Habits of Radiologists and Benefits of Using Social Networks for Professional Purposes
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Barriers to Using Social Networks for Professional Purposes
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Discussion
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Conclusion
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