Chan WSY, Leung AYM. (2018). Use of social network sites for communication among health professionals: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 20(3): e117. doi: 10.2196/jmir.8382
Researchers reviewed 33 studies evaluating functions, benefits, and limitations of using social networking sites (SNSs) for communication between health professionals. For the purpose of this review, SNS was defined as a website that allowed users to create personal profiles and develop connections with other users. Studies were required to be primary research, but there were no other restrictions on study design. Researchers extracted information about study design, health professions included, SNSs included, function of SNSs, and outcome measures. None of the included studies were randomized clinical trials; 12 used quantitative designs, 5 used qualitative designs, and 16 used mixed method designs. Most studies were based in the United States (12), United Kingdom (9), and Canada (4). Studies mostly involved physicians (19) and students and trainees (7). Most studies examined use of any SNS (11). The most common SNSs examined were Twitter (8), Facebook (7), and WhatsApp (6). SNSs were used to facilitate communication within clinical teams, build connections between health professionals with similar professional interests, and facilitate education and training. Benefits of SNSs included that they facilitate communication beyond limitations of location and time, sharing of text and multimedia content, creation of new professional contacts, information dissemination within and beyond professional settings, and outreach at conferences. Limitations of SNSs included difficulties operating SNSs, safety and ethical concerns, and professionalism concerns related to sharing personal information and making connections between colleagues.