Instant messaging – one solution to doctor–student communication?

Hossain, Ibtesham T.; Mughal, Umair; Atalla, Bashar; Franka, Mustafa; Siddiqui, Sarim; Muntasir, Mohammed

doi:10.3402/meo.v20.30593

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In reality, the use of WhatsApp Messenger can provide a solution to this by providing subtle structure to an erratic environment [ 32 , 33 ]. In addition, WhatsApp is seen to be a simple, cheap, and effective means of communication within the clinical health sector, and its use will grow [ 33 , 34 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

WhatsApp Messenger as an Adjunctive Tool for Telemedicine: An Overview

Giordano¹,

Koch²,

et al. 2017

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BackgroundThe advent of telemedicine has allowed physicians to deliver medical treatment to patients from a distance. Mobile apps such as WhatsApp Messenger, an instant messaging service, came as a novel concept in all fields of social life, including medicine. The use of instant messaging services has been shown to improve communication within medical teams by providing means for quick teleconsultation, information sharing, and starting treatment as soon as possible.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive systematic review of present literature on the use of the WhatsApp Messenger app as an adjunctive health care tool for medical doctors.MethodsSearches were performed in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library using the term “whatsapp*” in articles published before January 2016. A bibliography of all relevant original articles that used the WhatsApp Messenger app was created. The level of evidence of each study was determined according to the Oxford Levels of Evidence ranking system produced by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. The impact and the indications of WhatsApp Messenger are discussed in order to understand the extent to which this app currently functions as an adjunctive tool for telemedicine.ResultsThe database search identified a total of 30 studies in which the term “whatsapp*” was used. Each article’s list of references was evaluated item-by-item. After literature reviews, letters to the editor, and low-quality studies were excluded, a total of 10 studies were found to be eligible for inclusion. Of these studies, 9 had been published in the English language and 1 had been published in Spanish. Five were published by medical doctors.ConclusionsThe pooled data presents compelling evidence that the WhatsApp Messenger app is a promising system, whether used as a communication tool between health care professionals, as a means of communication between health care professionals and the general public, or as a learning tool for providing health care information to professionals or to the general population. However, high-quality and properly evaluated research is needed, as are improvements in descriptions of the methodology and the study processes. These improvements will allow WhatsApp Messenger to be categorically defined as an effective telemedicine tool in many different fields of health care.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

WhatsApp Messenger as an Adjunctive Tool for Telemedicine: An Overview

Giordano¹,

Koch²,

et al. 2017

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“…Effective communication is necessary to take advantage of learning opportunities that are often sporadic. However, communication systems within the majority of UK hospitals are outdated, using old technology such as pager systems [9]. Almost all health professionals in the United Kingdom now carry and use smartphones, improving communication within the hospital environment [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

WhatsApp messenger as a tool to supplement medical education for medical students on clinical attachment

2017

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BackgroundInstant messaging applications have the potential to improve and facilitate communication between hospital doctors and students, hence generating and improving learning opportunities. This study aims to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of instant messaging communication to supplement medical education for medical students whilst on clinical attachment.MethodsA total of 6 WhatsApp Messenger (WhatsApp Inc.) groups were created for medical students on clinical attachment. These were used to provide communication within Problem Based Learning (PBL) groups for a duration of 8 weeks. The frequency and type of communication were recorded. Students’ opinions were evaluated through a structured interview process at the end of the study period. A thematic analysis was performed on the content of the instant messaging groups and on the results of the structured interviews.ResultsAll of the participants were active in their respective messaging groups (19 students and 6 tutors). A total of 582 messages, 22 images and 19 webpage links were sent. Thematic analysis on content of the instant messaging groups identified the following themes: organisational, educational and social. Thematic analysis on the content of interviews identified themes such as the ease of use of instant messaging, benefit of instant messaging to foster understanding and learning, and the ability to access recorded discussions.ConclusionThe findings of this study illustrate a method by which communication within PBL groups can be facilitated by the use of instant messaging. The results indicate the feasibility and acceptability of WhatsApp Messenger in supplementing PBL teaching for medical students, and provides a framework for studies to investigate use amongst larger cohorts of students.

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“…The chosen messenger application WhatsApp has been described for different indications in science and medicine [18,19]. Still, it has to be regarded as mere example of a social media tool, as various studies have sufficiently used other social media for information transmission in medicine, like e. g. YouTube [28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, social media have been shown to be well accepted and used by researchers [13], but also in clinical fields for communication [15], transmission of ultrasound results [17], or training of clinical techniques [14]. Especially smartphone messenger applications offer advantages like constant mobile availability for users, easy integration of audio-visual files, and quick lines of communication also for professional purposes [18,19]. This also holds true regarding the digital instruction of the investigating personnel, be they experienced or inexperienced personnel [20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Instructing Ultrasound-guided Examination Techniques Using a Social Media Smartphone App

et al. 2020

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Social media applications on smartphones allow for new avenues of instruction in sports medicine and exercise sciences. This study tested the feasibility of instructing health care personnel through videos of ultrasound vascular measurements distributed by a social media messenger application. After two training sessions with an ultrasound device, voluntary physicians (n=10) and nurses (n=10) received a video for the performance of an ultrasound-guided determination of intima-media-thickness and diameter of the femoral arteries via a social media messenger application. All participants examined the same healthy human subject. There was no significant difference between the groups regarding overall time of performance, measurements of the femoral arteries, or a specifically designed “assessment of mobile imparted arterial ultrasound determination” score. The physicians group achieved significantly higher scores in the established “objective structured assessment of ultrasound skills” score (p=0.019). Approval of the setting was high in both groups. Transmission of videos via social media applications can be used for instructions on the performance of ultrasound-guided vascular examinations in sports medicine, even if investigators’ performances differ depending on their grade of ultrasound experience. In the future, the chosen approach should be tested in practical scientific examination settings.

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Instant messaging – one solution to doctor–student communication?

Cited by 15 publications

References 9 publications

WhatsApp Messenger as an Adjunctive Tool for Telemedicine: An Overview

WhatsApp Messenger as an Adjunctive Tool for Telemedicine: An Overview

WhatsApp messenger as a tool to supplement medical education for medical students on clinical attachment

Instructing Ultrasound-guided Examination Techniques Using a Social Media Smartphone App

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