Updated Survey of Social Media Use by Members of the American Urological Association

Abstract

Introduction: We performed a more detailed, updated analysis of social media use by AUA members. Specifically we sought to characterize the frequency of and reason for using different social media platforms as well as barriers to social media use. Methods: From November to December 2013 we sent a 21-item survey on social media use to all 16,376 AUA members with a valid email address. A total of 1,114 members (6.8%) completed the survey. Responses were tallied and statistical analysis was performed to evaluate use patterns based on demographic characteristics. Results: Overall 71% of AUA members who responded to the survey currently had a social media account. The most popular social media platform was FacebookÒ (89% of respondents), followed by LinkedInÒ (59%), YouTubeÔ (54%), TwitterÒ (48%) and GoogleþÔ (35%). All platforms except LinkedIn were used primarily for personal reasons. Fewer than a third of respondents had viewed an AUA social media site and 35% of physician respondents participated in a physician-only social media community. Among respondents who did not use social media the most common reasons were no perception of added value and privacy concerns. Conclusions: Although most AUA respondents are involved in social media, they primarily use social media for personal reasons. There remains significant potential for growth and education on the usefulness of social media for urologists in the professional setting.

Novel survey disseminated through Twitter supports its utility for networking, disseminating research, advocacy, clinical practice and other professional goals

“…Furthermore, our response rate of 21% using targeted tweets as a method of dissemination compares favourably with the 6.8% response rate in a previous AUA survey on social media sent via email. 2 Thus, this study also demonstrates the feasibility of Twitter messages as a rapid and novel method to disseminate targeted surveys within the urological community.…”

“…Social media has increasing significance in the world of medicine and particularly in urology. According to surveys conducted by the American Urological Association (AUA), over two-thirds of members have a social media account, 1,2 and Twitter use at urology conferences continues to expand. [3][4][5] Twitter is a microblogging service involving short messages (or "tweets") of ≤140 characters.…”

“…9 A recent survey by the AUA demonstrated that a significant proportion of urologists remain unconvinced about the usefulness of social media, with a perceived lack of added value as a top reason for non-participation. 2 The aim of our study was to assess the perceived utility of Twitter for professional goals and the perceived impact of Twitter on clinical practice of active Twitter physician users.…”

Unprofessional content on Facebook accounts of US urology residency graduates

“…Of these, Facebook was the most popular among attending urologists (89%) and urology trainees (98%). Most urologists characterized their social media use as being for personal reasons, rather than professional or business purposes .…”

History of Social Media in Surgery

“…The first surgical journal club, #urojc (International Urology Journal Club), was started by Dr. Henry Woo (@DrHWoo) in 2012. 27 Multiple surgical journal clubs followed suit, including the Resident and Associates Society of the American College of Surgeons (RAS) and Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS) online journal club (#RASJACS). This includes a combination of invited commentaries from surgical experts and moderated discussions that occurs over several days.…”