Dataset Information

Understanding the Function Constitution and Influence Factors on Communication for the WeChat Official Account of Top Tertiary Hospitals in China: Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Widespread adoption and continued developments in mobile health care technologies have led to the improved accessibility and quality of medical services. In China, WeChat, an instant messaging and social networking app released by the company Tencent, has developed a specific type of user account called WeChat official account (WOA), which is now widely adopted by hospitals in China. It enables health care providers to connect with local citizens, allowing them to, among other actions, send regular updates through mass circulation. However, with the diversity in function provided by WOA, little is known about its major constitution as well as the influence factors on the WeChat communication index (WCI). The WCI has been widely used in social media impact ranking with various types of WeChat content to fully reflect the dissemination and coverage of tweets as well as the maturity and impact of WOA. OBJECTIVE:There are two typical WOAs available to users, namely, WeChat subscription account (WSSA) and WeChat service account (WSVA). The biggest difference between them is the frequency of messages transmitted. This study aimed to explore the function constitution of WSVA adopted by top tertiary hospitals in China and the major contributors of the WCI score. METHODS:A total of 681 top tertiary hospitals were selected from the Hospital Quality Monitoring System; the WOA of every top tertiary hospital was retrieved in the WeChat app. We divided core functional items of WSVAs using categorical principal component analysis. To elicit the factors that influenced the use of WSVA, quantile regression was employed to analyze the WCI score. RESULTS:From the 668 WOAs identified, adoption of WSVAs (543/668, 81.3%) was more than that of WSSAs (125/668, 18.7%). Functional items of WSVAs were categorized into four clusters: (1) hospital introduction, (2) medical services, (3) visiting assistants, and (4) others. With regard to the influence factors on the WCI, the impact of the activity index of WSVA and the total visiting number of outpatients and emergencies on WCI were statistically significant and positive in all quantiles. However, the year of certification, the type of hospital, the year of public hospital reform, and the number of beds merely affected the WCI at some quantiles. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings are considered helpful to tertiary hospitals in developing in-depth functional items that improve patient experience. The tertiary hospitals should take full advantage of times of posting and provide high-quality tweets to meet the various needs of patients.

SUBMITTER: Shen L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6928700 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Understanding the Function Constitution and Influence Factors on Communication for the WeChat Official Account of Top Tertiary Hospitals in China: Cross-Sectional Study.

Shen Lining L Wang Shimin S Chen Wenqiang W Fu Qiang Q Evans Richard R Lan Fuqiang F Li Wei W Xu Juan J Zhang Zhiguo Z

Journal of medical Internet research 20191209 12

<h4>Background</h4>Widespread adoption and continued developments in mobile health care technologies have led to the improved accessibility and quality of medical services. In China, WeChat, an instant messaging and social networking app released by the company Tencent, has developed a specific type of user account called WeChat official account (WOA), which is now widely adopted by hospitals in China. It enables health care providers to connect with local citizens, allowing them to, among other ...[more]

PMID: 31815674

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Project description:Background: The promotion of a healthy diet via health education is a component of the "Healthy China 2030" plan. However, few studies have reported whether health knowledge about nutrition and diet has gained public attention, and whether it is needed by the public. Methods: The numbers of views, shares, and reads of articles published by the official WeChat account of a hospital in China were accessed. The influence index was obtained via the entropy analysis of these three indices. A questionnaire survey was developed based on the purpose of the study and the conclusion of the content analysis, which conducted to analyze users' requirements for health knowledge and their influencing factors. Moreover, risk factors were explored by logistic regression models. Results: Of the 103 articles considered in this study, four articles in the Top 10 were related to nutrition and diet. The influence index of nutrition and diet knowledge was found to be the highest in the content analysis (p < 0.05). The higher degrees of humor (β = 0.224, p = 0.027), nutrition and diet articles (β = 0.776, p = 0.034), and cover articles (β = 0.312, p = 0.021) have significant influences on the influence index. In total, 581 questionnaires were obtained, and 78.1% of the respondents reported believing that the health knowledge of greatest concern was that related to nutrition and diet. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the associations between the features of the articles and users reading nutrition and diet knowledge; it was found that gender (female, OR: 4.651, 95%Cl: 2.598, 8.325, and p < 0.001), age (young adult, OR: 0.358, 95%Cl: 0.266, 0.481, and p < 0.001), cancer precaution knowledge (OR: 4.333, 95%Cl: 2.262, 8.299, and p < 0.001), traditional Chinese medicine (OR: 2.121, 95%Cl: 1.064, 4.230, and p = 0.033), the knowledge acquisition approach [circle of friends (OR: 2.586, 95%Cl: 1.373, 4.868, and p = 0.003), social media (OR: 2.183, 95%Cl: 1.204, 3.960, and p = 0.010)), hospitals (OR: 3.194, 95%Cl: 1.793, 5.692, and p < 0.001), television media (OR: 4.348, 95%Cl: 2.341, 8.077, and p < 0.001)], and social media strategies [professionalism and authority (OR: 2.354, 95%Cl: 1.231, 4.505, and p = 0.006)] have statistically significant relationships with users reading nutrition and diet knowledge. Conclusion: Nutrition and diet knowledge could contribute to WeChat user engagement of health information dissemination. Nutrition professionals should improve the scientific popularization ability and effectively use social media for health promotion.

Project description:BackgroundThe prevalence of infertility in China is high, but the advent of assisted reproduction technology (ART) has greatly eased this situation. Social media, such as WeChat official accounts, have become the preferred tool for ART centers to communicate with patients, but their attention and operational status differ, and the Internet influence of WeChat official accounts is insufficient. In addition, questions about whether Internet influence is consistent with academic influence and whether the Internet can influence patients' choice of medical treatment to a certain extent have not been explored.ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the operational status and Internet influence of WeChat official accounts for ART centers and to explore the degree of Internet influence on patients' choices of medical treatment.MethodsWe collected information from the WeChat official accounts for ART centers approved by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China and used the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution to build an Internet influence model of the ART centers and obtained a Ranking of Internet Influence on Reproductive Centers (RIIRC) for each center.ResultsWe found there were 451 ART centers throughout the country by the end of 2016 and 498 by the end of 2018. The number of medical institutions is quite large, but their distribution is uneven, and their level of medical technical ability is very different. Analysis of the text data of posts of WeChat official accounts showed the ART centers have insufficient awareness of network exposure and publicity, and the RIIRC of some medical institutions was inconsistent with their medical level and academic status.ConclusionsART institutions have varying degrees of emphasis and use of WeChat official accounts in China. They fail to realize that the Internet influence of WeChat may bring them potential patient resources and that Internet influence may affect the future market structure of ART and may also potentially affect academic rankings.

Project description:Importance:Hospital networks formed around top-ranked cancer hospitals represent an opportunity to optimize complex cancer care in the community. Objective:To compare the short- and long-term survival after complex cancer treatment at top-ranked cancer hospitals and the affiliates of top-ranked hospitals. Design, Setting, and Participants:This cohort study was conducted using data from the unabridged version of the National Cancer Database. Included patients were individuals 18 years or older who underwent surgical treatment for esophageal, gastric, lung, pancreatic, colorectal, or bladder cancer diagnosed between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016. Patient outcomes after complex surgical procedures for cancer at top-ranked cancer hospitals (as ranked in top 50 by US News and World Report) were compared with outcomes at affiliates of top-ranked cancer hospitals (affiliation listed in American Hospitals Association survey and confirmed by search of internet presence). Data were analyzed from July through December 2019. Exposures:Undergoing complex cancer treatment at a top-ranked cancer hospital or an affiliated hospital. Main Outcomes and Measures:The association of affiliate status with short-term survival (ie, 90-day mortality) was compared using logistic regression, and the association of affiliate status with long-term survival was compared using time-to-event models, adjusting for patient demographic, payer, clinical, and treatment factors. Results:Among 119?834 patients who underwent surgical treatment for cancer, 79?981 patients (66.7%) were treated at top-ranked cancer hospitals (median [interquartile range] age, 66 [58-74] years; 40?910 [54.9%] men) and 39?853 patients (33.3%) were treated at affiliate hospitals (median [interquartile range] age, 69 [60-77] years; 19?004 [50.0%] men). In a pooled analysis of all cancer types, adjusted perioperative mortality within 90 days of surgical treatment was higher at affiliate hospitals compared with top-ranked hospitals (odds ratio, 1.67 [95% CI, 1.49-1.89]; P?<?.001). Adjusted long-term survival following cancer treatment at affiliate hospitals was only 77% that of top-ranked hospitals (time ratio, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.72-0.83]; P?<?.001). The survival advantage was not fully explained by differences in annual surgical volume, with both long- and short-term survival remaining superior at top-ranked hospitals even after models were adjusted for volume. Conclusions and Relevance:These findings suggest that short- and long-term survival after complex cancer treatment were superior at top-ranked hospitals compared with affiliates of top-ranked hospitals. Further study of cancer care within top-ranked cancer networks could reveal collaborative opportunities to improve survival across a broad contingent of the US population.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Although the use of the Internet for health purposes has increased steadily in the last decade, only a few studies have explored the information provided by the websites of health institutions and no studies on the on-line activities of Italian hospitals have been performed to date. The aim of this study was to explore the characteristics of the contents and the user-orientation of Italian hospital websites. METHODS: The cross-sectional analysis considered all the Italian hospitals with a working website between December 2008 and February 2009. The websites were coded using an ad hoc Codebook, comprising eighty-nine items divided into five sections: technical characteristics, hospital information and facilities, medical services, interactive on-line services and external activities. We calculated a website evaluation score, on the basis of the items satisfied, to compare private (PrHs) and public hospitals, the latter divided into ones with their own website (PubHs-1) and ones with a section on the website of their Local Health Authority (PubHs-2). Lastly, a descriptive analysis of each item was carried out. RESULTS: Out of the 1265 hospitals in Italy, we found that 419 of the 652 public hospitals (64.3%) and 344 of the 613 PrHs (56.1%) had a working website (p = 0.01). The mean website evaluation score was 41.9 for PubHs-1, 21.2 for PubHs-2 and 30.8 for PrHs (p < 0.001).Only 5 hospitals out of 763 (< 1%) provided specific clinical performance indicators, such as the nosocomial infection rate or the surgical mortality rates. Regarding interactive on-line services, although nearly 80% of both public and private hospitals enabled users to communicate on-line, less than 18% allowed the reservation of medical services, and only 8 websites (1%) provided a health-care forum. CONCLUSIONS: A high percentage of hospitals did not provide an official website and the majority of the websites found had several limitations. Very few hospitals provided information to increase the credibility of the hospital and user confidence in the institution. This study suggests that Italian hospital websites are more a source of information on admissions and services than a means of communication between user and hospital.

Project description:BackgroundPhysician assistants/associates (PAs) are a recent innovation in acute hospital teams in England and many other countries worldwide. Although existing evidence indicates generally high levels of patient satisfaction with their PA hospital encounters, little is known about the factors associated with this outcome. There is a lack of evidence on the process of PA-patient communication in hospital encounters and how this might influence satisfaction. This study therefore aimed to understand patients' satisfaction with PA acute hospital encounters through PA-patient communication experiences.MethodsA qualitative study was conducted among patients and representatives of patients seen by or receiving care from one of the PAs working in acute hospital services in England. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken face-to-face with study participants in the hospital setting and shortly after their PA encounter. Data were coded and analysed using thematic analysis. The study was framed within a theoretical model of core functions of medical encounter communication.ResultsFifteen patients and patient representatives who had experienced a PA encounter participated in interviews, across five hospitals in England. Four interrelated communication experiences were important to participants who were satisfied with the encounter in general: feeling trust and confidence in the relationship, sharing relevant and meaningful information, experiencing emotional care and support, and sharing discussion on illness management and treatment. However, many participants misconceived PAs to be doctors, raising a potential risk of reduced trust in the PA relationship and negative implications for satisfaction with their PA encounter. Participants considered it beneficial that patients be informed about the PA role to prevent confusion.ConclusionsPA encounters offer a constructive example of successful clinician-patient communication experiences in acute hospital encounters from the patient's perspective. Study participants were generally naïve to the PA role. Hospital services and organisations introducing these mid-level or advanced care practitioner roles should consider giving attention to informing patients about the roles.

Dataset Information

Understanding the Function Constitution and Influence Factors on Communication for the WeChat Official Account of Top Tertiary Hospitals in China: Cross-Sectional Study.

Publications

Understanding the Function Constitution and Influence Factors on Communication for the WeChat Official Account of Top Tertiary Hospitals in China: Cross-Sectional Study.

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