Brief Communication
Translating evidence to practice in the health professions:
a randomized trial of Twitter vs Facebook
Jacqueline Tunnecliff,1 John Weiner,2 James E Gaida,3 Jennifer L Keating,1
Prue Morgan,1 Dragan Ilic,2 Lyn Clearihan,4 David Davies,5 Sivalal Sadasivan,6
Patitapaban Mohanty, 7
Shankar Ganesh, 7
John Reynolds, 2
and Stephen Maloney 1
1Department of Physiotherapy, Monash University, Frankston, Australia, 2Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine,
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, 3Discipline of Physiotherapy and University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport
and Exercise (UCRISE), University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia, 4School of Primary Health, Monash University, Melbourne,
Australia, 5Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom, 6JC School of Medicine & Health Scien-
ces, Monash University Malaysia and 7Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research, Odisha,
India
Correspondence to Associate Professor Stephen Maloney, Department of Physiotherapy, Monash University, PO Box
527, Frankston, 3199, Victoria, Australia; [email protected]
Received 7 October 2015; Revised 21 April 2016; Accepted 30 April 2016
ABSTRACT
Objective: Our objective was to compare the change in research informed knowledge of health professionals
and their intended practice following exposure to research information delivered by either Twitter or Facebook.
Methods: This open label comparative design study randomized health professional clinicians to receive
“practice points” on tendinopathy management via Twitter or Facebook. Evaluated outcomes included knowl-
edge change and self-reported changes to clinical practice.
Results: Four hundred and ninety-four participants were randomized to 1 of 2 groups and 317 responders ana-
lyzed. Both groups demonstrated improvements in knowledge and reported changes to clinical practice. There
was no statistical difference between groups for the outcomes of knowledge change (P¼ .728), changes to clini- cal practice (P¼ .11) or the increased use of research information (P¼ .89). Practice points were shared more by the Twitter group (P < .001); attrition was lower in the Facebook group (P < .001).
Conclusion: Research information delivered by either Twitter or Facebook can improve clinician knowledge and
promote behavior change. No differences in these outcomes were observed between the Twitter and Facebook
groups. Brief social media posts are as effective as longer posts for improving knowledge and promoting
behavior change. Twitter may be more useful in publicizing information and Facebook for encouraging course
completion.
Key words: social media, evidence-based practice, communication, education, professional, computer-assisted instruction
INTRODUCTION
A significant gap remains between research generated healthcare
knowledge and clinical practice.1–3 Social media can rapidly link
researchers and clinicians from diverse geographical regions,
disciplines, and areas of practice; making it an ideal medium for
knowledge exchange and education. Approximately 25% of
health professionals currently use social media for obtaining
research information.4
Social media has been defined as a “collection of web-based
technologies that share a user-focused approach to design and func-
tionality, where users can actively participate in content creation
VC The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved.
For Permissions, please email: [email protected]
403
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 24(2), 2017, 403–408
doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocw085
Advance Access Publication Date: 29 June 2016
Brief Communication
and editing through open collaboration between members of com-
munities of practice.”5 The use of social media in education may
lead to positive learning experiences,5,6 increases in knowledge and
skills,7–10 and changes to the clinical practices of health professio-
nals.10,11 However, there is a need for studies to evaluate the relative
effectiveness of different social media based applications.12
Two of the largest social media applications are Facebook (1.49
billion monthly active users) and Twitter (316 million monthly
active users).13,14 Both sites promote user interaction and allow
posting of text, videos, and weblinks; however, Twitter limits posts
to 140 characters. Neither site charges access costs. The popularity
and features of these sites indicate their potential application in
communicating research information and, therefore, were chosen
for investigation in this study.
OBJECTIVE
The primary objective of this study was to determine if research
information delivered by Twitter or Facebook would result in
greater changes in research informed knowledge and practices of
health professionals. The secondary aim was to compare participant
behavior and engagement with the two mediums.
METHODS
Design An open label randomized comparative design was used, with a
mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis. The Mon-
ash University Human Research Ethics committee (CF 14/1372 –
2014000640) approved the study.
Participants Health professional clinicians of any discipline (e.g., medicine, phys-
iotherapy, podiatry), geographical location, or level of expertise
(including undergraduate students), were eligible to participate.
Recruitment occurred via an email invitation distributed to clinical
affiliates and departments of Monash University, Faculty of Medi-
cine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Australia; Monash University
Malaysia; Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation
Training and Research, India; and the University of Southern Cali-
fornia. Professional associations representing professions registered
with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency15 were
also invited to distribute the invitation to participate via email or
their own social media sites.
