Use of Social Media on Health-Related Information among Staff and Patients in Miri Hospital

Abstract

Introduction:

As people increasingly rely on self-help, social media are pervasive, rapidly evolving and increasingly influencing people’s daily life and their health behaviour. The wide availability of the internet enables users, including the patients to freely search for health-related information. However, misleading information shared in social media could greatly impact their health outcomes. Therefore, it is important to identify the right social media platform in seeking true health-related information to avoid a negative impact on their health outcome.

Objective:

The objective of the study is to identify the most common social media platforms used and to explore the health-related activities that often take place.

Methods:

We conducted a cross-sectional study in Miri Hospital and applied convenience sampling in the hospital staff (Medical Officer, Dentist, and Pharmacist) and patients’ recruitment. A data collection form containing ten questions was created and distributed to the hospital staff and patients. We performed descriptive statistics using SPSS Statistics Version 21 and described the categorical variables as frequencies and percentages.

Results:

We recruited 100 hospital staff and patients in Miri Hospital in this study. The most common platform used is Google, which comprises of 32.95%. Google is the search engine that is commonly used to explore various information in the form of images, videos, news, and articles. The two main purposes in using the internet for health-related information are sign and symptoms (26.82%) and medication and/or side effect (24.50%).

Conclusion:

In summary, people use social media for various activities. There are many social platforms such as Facebook, Google, YouTube, Medscape, UpToDate, Lexicomp, WeChat and many more. However, health education in the digital era needs to be accurate, evidence-based and regulated. In this study, we identified that Google is the most commonly used platform to search for health-related information online. The main purpose noted in using the internet for health-related information is searching for sign and symptoms of a certain medical condition.