Parents' Use of Social Media as a Health Information Source for Their Children: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Parents are increasingly using social media to inform health decisions for their children.

Objective: This scoping review examines 1) How do parents use social media to find health information for their children? 2) What motivates parents to engage with social media to seek health information for their children? 3) How do parents seek to understand and evaluate the health information they find on social media, and how does social media impact parental health information-seeking?

Methods: Scopus, CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, and Embase databases were searched, with open date parameters. Peer-reviewed studies that examined parents' and responsible caregivers' use of social media as a source of health information for their children (aged <18 years) were included.

Results: The 42 included studies spanned 2011 to 2020. More than half (n = 24, 57%) were published in 2019 and 2020. Parents use social media for information about specific health concerns both before and after a medical diagnosis for their child. Parents are motivated to engage with social media as they seek out extensive information based on lived experience from other parents, as well as social support and community.

Conclusion: This scoping review reveals parents' motivation to use social media for health information, and how that can interact with, and impose on, clinical practice. It is important for those who provide pediatric health care to both understand and accommodate this permanent shift facilitated by social media, when working with parents who are seeking health information when making health decisions for their children.

Keywords: adolescent; child; health behavior; infant; information-seeking behavior; parents; preschool; social media.