Social Networking App Use Among Primary Health Care Professionals: Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Francesc X Marin-Gomez; Francesc Garcia Cuyas; Ramon Reig-Bolano; Jacobo Mendioroz; Pere Roura-Poch; Margalida Pico-Nicolau; Josep Vidal-Alaball

doi:10.2196/11147

Social Networking App Use Among Primary Health Care Professionals: Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Dec 21;6(12):e11147. doi: 10.2196/11147.

Authors

Francesc X Marin-Gomez^{1

2

3

4}, Francesc Garcia Cuyas^{4

5}, Ramon Reig-Bolano^{4

6}, Jacobo Mendioroz^{2

3}, Pere Roura-Poch², Margalida Pico-Nicolau^{2

7}, Josep Vidal-Alaball^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Servei d'Atenció Primària d'Osona, Gerència Territorial de la Catalunya Central, Institut Català de la Salut, Vic, Spain.
² Unitat de Suport a la Recerca Catalunya Central, Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol, Sant Fruitós de Bages, Spain.
³ Health Promotion in Rural Areas Research Group, Institut Català de la Salut, Sant Fruitós de Bages, Spain.
⁴ Digital Care Research Group, Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya, Vic, Spain.
⁵ Department of Information and Communications Technology in Health, Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya, Vic, Spain.
⁶ Department of Engineering, Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya, Vic, Spain.
⁷ Centre d'Atenció Primària Sant Quirze de Besora, Gerència Territorial de la Catalunya Central, Institut Català de la Salut, Sant Quirze de Besora, Spain.

PMID: 30578175
PMCID: PMC6320407
DOI: 10.2196/11147

Abstract

Background: Several studies have been conducted to analyze the role social networks play in communication between patients and health professionals. However, there is a shortage of studies in relation to communication among primary health professionals, in a professional context, using the various mobile phone apps available.

Objective: The objective of our study was to explore mobile phone social networking app use among primary health care professionals for work-related purposes, by comparing the most widely used apps in the market.

Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional study using an anonymous Web survey among a convenience sample of 1635 primary health care professionals during August and September 2017.

Results: Of 483 participants in the survey, 474 (98.1%, 95% CI 97.1%-99.4%) were health professionals who commonly accessed social networking sites and 362 (74.9%, 95% CI 71.1%-78.8%) accessed the sites in a work-related context. Of those 362 respondents, 219 (96.7%, 95% CI 94.8%-98.5%) preferred WhatsApp for both personal and professional uses. Of the 362 respondents who used social networking sites in a work-related context, 276 (76.2%, 95% CI 71.9%-80.6%) rated social networking sites as useful or very useful to solve clinical problems, 261 (72.1%, 95% CI 67.5%-76.7%) to improve their professional knowledge, and 254 (70.2%, 95% CI 65.5%-74.9%) to speed up the transmission of clinical information. Most of them (338/362, 94.8%, 95% CI 92.5%-97.0%) used social networking sites for interprofessional communications, and 204 of 362 (56.4%, 95% CI 51.2%-61.5%) used them for pharmacological-related consultations.

Conclusions: Health professionals frequently accessed social networking sites using their mobile phones and often for work-related issues. This trend suggests that social networking sites may be useful tools in primary care settings, but we need to ensure the security of the data transfer process to make sure that social networking sites are used appropriately. Health institutions need to increase information and training activities to ensure the correct use of these tools.

Keywords: attitude; cell phone use; mHealth; primary health care; smartphone; social networking; telemedicine.

©Francesc X Marin-Gomez, Francesc Garcia Cuyas, Ramon Reig-Bolano, Jacobo Mendioroz, Pere Roura-Poch, Margalida Pico-Nicolau, Josep Vidal-Alaball. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 21.12.2018.