Effective uses of social media in public health and medicine: a systematic review of systematic reviews

Authors

  • Dean M Giustini University of British Columbia Library http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6197-8788
  • Syed Mustafa Ali Mercy Corps, Lahore, PAKISTAN
  • Matthew Fraser Alexander Graham Bell Centre for Digital Health, University of the Highlands and Islands, Elgin
  • Maged N Kamel Boulos Alexander Graham Bell Centre for Digital Health, University of the Highlands and Islands, Elgin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v10i2.8270

Abstract

Introduction: Research examining the effective uses of social media (SM) in public health and medicine, especially in the form of systematic reviews (SRs), has grown considerably in the past decade. To our knowledge, no comprehensive synthesis of this literature has been conducted to date.

Aims and methods: To conduct a systematic review of systematic reviews of the benefits and harms (“effects”) of SM tools and platforms (such as Twitter and Facebook) in public health and medicine. To perform a synthesis of this literature and create a ‘living systematic review’.

Results: Forty-two (42) high-quality SRs were examined. Overall, evidence of SM’s effectiveness in public health and medicine was judged to be minimal. However, qualitative benefits for patients are seen in improved psychosocial support and psychological functioning. Health professionals benefited from better peer-to-peer communication and lifelong learning. Harms on all groups include the impact of SM on mental health, privacy, confidentiality and information reliability.

Conclusions: A range of negatives and positives of SM in public health and medicine are seen in the SR literature but definitive conclusions cannot be made at this time. Clearly better research designs are needed to measure the effectiveness of social technologies. For ongoing updates, see the wiki “Effective uses of social media in health: a living systematic review of systematic reviews”. http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/index.php/Effective_uses_of_social_media_in_healthcare:_a_living_systematic_review_of_reviews

Author Biography

Dean M Giustini, University of British Columbia Library

I am a biomedical librarian and an adjunct faculty at the University of British Columbia.

Downloads

Published

2018-09-21

How to Cite

Giustini, D. M., Ali, S. M., Fraser, M., & Boulos, M. N. K. (2018). Effective uses of social media in public health and medicine: a systematic review of systematic reviews. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.5210/ojphi.v10i2.8270

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2018)

Section

Review Articles

License

Authors own copyright of their articles appearing in the Online Journal of Public Health Informatics. Readers may copy articles without permission of the copyright owner(s), as long as the author and OJPHI are acknowledged in the copy and the copy is used for educational, not-for-profit purposes. Share-alike: when posting copies or adaptations of the work, release the work under the same license as the original. For any other use of articles, please contact the copyright owner. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work, including uses infringing the above license. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.