Social media could be a valuable tool for spreading evidence-based information to the target audience. Additionally, it can be a great solution to improve the interaction between individuals, institutions, and countries.

Amy Keir and the team has conducted a study to determine the use of social media platforms, such as Twitter and other online platforms in disseminating information about the new research and develop evidence-based medicine resource.

The study was formalized when the neonatologists and paediatric emergency physician used the social media tools to spread new research findings met at the Paediatric Academic Societies meeting in 2019, in Toronto. The hashtag #neoEBM was a way to spread and track the evidence-based neonatology content. To strengthen the group further links were also built through which the information was sent.

Two months after the formation of #neoEBM, about 1925 posts appeared from 502 users. Based on the study results, the use of social media to disseminate evidence-based healthcare information represents one of the important tools. However, broader engagement, collaboration, coordination, and guidance are required for effective dissemination strategies.

The study concludes that social media can be a valuable tool for disseminating knowledge around evidence-based healthcare, including new research findings.

Reference:

Keir A, Bamat N, Patel RM, Elkhateeb O, Roland D. Utilising social media to educate and inform healthcare professionals, policy-makers and the broader community in evidence-based healthcare. BMJ Evid Based Med. 2019 Jun; 24(3):87-89.