Health policy researchers lack confidence in social media

Most health policy researchers lack the confidence to use social media to communicate their findings, with many describing it as "replete with opinion and junk", a new study has found.
Only 14 per cent of health policy researchers reported using Twitter and approximately 20 per cent used blogs and Facebook to communicate their research findings over the past year, according to the study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
In contrast, sixty-five per cent used traditional media channels, such as press releases or media interviews, found the study which surveyed 215 health and health policy researchers, primarily MDs and PhDs.

While participants believed that social media can be an effective way to communicate research findings, many lacked the confidence to use it and felt their academic peers and institutions did not value it or respect it as much as traditional media and direct contact with policy makers.
"Our study uncovered four central findings," explained lead author, David Grande, assistant professor of Medicine at Penn Medicine.
"First, most health policy researchers are not using social media to communicate their research results, which could be a significant missed opportunity to expose a larger audience to important health news and findings," he said.

Results of the study also showed that researchers worry about how their peers and home institutions perceive social media, and that many describe it as replete with opinion and 'junk' and are concerned about presenting their scientific results in such settings.

However, Grande noted that participants became more confident about social media when given examples of how the channels could be used effectively.
For example, many thought that they could not communicate anything beyond the 140-character limit on Twitter, despite the common practice of including links to more substantive content.
Understanding how to use these tools, the authors said, could alleviate concerns about the information being superficially presented.

Finally, the study found that junior faculty members are more positively predisposed than their senior colleagues about social media.
This, Grande said, could be a result of greater familiarity with it from other aspects of their lives, or it might be because senior faculty members have greater access to policy makers owing to their stature and reputation.
The study is published in the journal Health Affairs.