Dataset Information

Use of Facebook by Academic Medical Centers in Taiwan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The battle against COVID-19 remains ongoing, and social media has played an important role during the crisis for both communication and health promotion, particularly for health care organizations. Taiwan's success during the COVID-19 outbreak is well known and the use of social media is one of the key contributing factors to that success. OBJECTIVE:This nationwide observational study in Taiwan aimed to explore the use of Facebook by academic medical centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS:We conducted a nationwide observational study of all Facebook fan page posts culled from the official accounts of all medical centers in Taiwan from December 2019 to April 2020. All Facebook posts were categorized into either COVID-19-related posts or non-COVID-19-related posts. COVID-19-related posts were split into 4 categories: policy of Taiwan's Center for Disease Control (TCDC), gratitude notes, news and regulations from hospitals, and education. Data from each post was also recorded as follows: date of post, headline, number of "likes," number of messages left, number of shares, video or non-video post, and date of search. RESULTS:The Facebook fan pages of 13 academic medical centers, with a total of 1816 posts, were analyzed. From January 2020, the percentage of COVID-19 posts increased rapidly, from 21% (January 2020) to 56.3% (April 2020). The trends of cumulative COVID-19 posts and reported confirmed cases were significantly related (Pearson correlation coefficient=0.93, P<.001). Pages from private hospitals had more COVID-19 posts (362 versus 289), as well as more video posts (72 posts, 19.9% versus 36 posts, 12.5%, P=.011), when compared to public hospitals. However, Facebook pages from public hospitals had significantly more "likes," comments, and shares per post (314, 5, 14, respectively, P<.001). Additionally, medical centers from different regions displayed different strategies for using video posts on Facebook. CONCLUSIONS:Social media has been a useful tool for communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. This nationwide observational study has helped demonstrate the value of Facebook for academic medical centers in Taiwan, along with its engagement efficacy. We believe that the experience of Taiwan and the knowledge it can share will be helpful to health care organizations worldwide during our global battle against COVID-19.

SUBMITTER: Chu WM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7683023 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Use of Facebook by Academic Medical Centers in Taiwan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study.

Chu Wei-Min WM Shieh Gow-Jen GJ Wu Shi-Liang SL Sheu Wayne Huey-Herng WH

Journal of medical Internet research 20201120 11

<h4>Background</h4>The battle against COVID-19 remains ongoing, and social media has played an important role during the crisis for both communication and health promotion, particularly for health care organizations. Taiwan's success during the COVID-19 outbreak is well known and the use of social media is one of the key contributing factors to that success.<h4>Objective</h4>This nationwide observational study in Taiwan aimed to explore the use of Facebook by academic medical centers during the ...[more]

PMID: 33119536

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Project description:IntroductionStructural forces that drive health inequalities are magnified in crises. This was especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, and minority communities were particularly affected. The University of California San Francisco and Health, Equity, Action, Leadership Initiative jointly sent volunteer teams of nurses and doctors to work in the Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This presented an opportunity to explore how academic medical centers (AMCs) could effectively partner with vulnerable communities to provide support during healthcare crises. Therefore, the aims of this study were to describe volunteers' perspectives of academic-community partnerships by exploring their personal, professional and societal insights and lessons learned based on their time in the Navajo Nation during COVID-19.MethodsWe recruited key informants using purposeful sampling of physicians and nurses who volunteered to go to the Navajo Nation during the spring 2020 COVID-19 surge, as well as hospital administrators and leaders involved in organizing the COVID-19 efforts. We used in-depth qualitative interviews to explore key informants' experiences pre-departure, during their stay, and after their return, as well as perspectives of the partnership between an AMC and the Navajo Nation. We used thematic analysis to systematically identify, analyze and report patterns (themes) within the data.ResultsIn total, 37 clinicians and hospital administrators were interviewed including 14 physicians, 16 nurses, and 7 health system leaders. Overall, we found 4 main themes each with several subthemes that defined the partnership between the AMC and the Navajo Nation. Mission and values incorporated civic duty, community engagement, leadership commitment and employee dedication. Solidarity, trust and humility encompassed pre-existing trust, workforce sustainability, humility and erasure of 'savior narratives.' Coordination included logistical coordination, flexibility, selectivity of who and what traveled to the response and coordination around media response. Workforce preparation and support encompassed understanding of historical context and providing healthcare in limited settings, dangers of inadequate preparation and the need for emotional support.ConclusionThis study provides guidelines which AMCs might use to develop and improve partnerships they have or would like to develop with vulnerable communities. These guidelines may even be broadly applied to partnerships outside of a pandemic response. Importantly, such partnerships need to be built with trust and with an eye towards sustainability and long-term relationships as opposed to 'medical missions'.

Project description:ImportanceElectronic consultations (eConsultations) are increasingly used to obtain specialist guidance, avoiding unnecessary face-to-face patient visits for certain clinical questions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when in-person care was limited, eConsultations may have helped clinicians obtain specialist input to guide patient care.ObjectiveTo understand how the use of eConsultations changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether trends in eConsultation utilization differed based on patient's payer and primary language.Design, setting, and participantsThis retrospective cohort study was conducted at 6 academic medical centers in the United States, all participating in the Association of American Colleges Coordinating Optimal Referral Experiences program. Participants included adult patients who had an outpatient visit, referral, or eConsultation during the study period. Data were analyzed from June 4, 2019, to July 28, 2020.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was the eConsultation proportion of specialty contact, defined as the number of completed eConsultations divided by the sum of the number of completed eConsultations and specialty referrals, expressed as a percentage. eConsultation percentages of specialty contact were further stratified by payer type and language. Payers included commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, self-pay or uninsured, and other. Primary language included English and non-English languages.ResultsA total of 14 545 completed eConsultations and 189 776 referrals were included. More eConsultations were completed for English-speaking patients (11 363 eConsultations [95.0%]) than non-English-speaking patients (597 eConsultations [5.0%]). Patients with commercial insurance represented the highest number of completed eConsultations (8848 eConsultations [60.8%]) followed by Medicare (3891 eConsultations [26.8%]), Medicaid (930 eConsultations [6.4%]), other insurance (745 eConsultations [5.1%]), and self-pay or no insurance (131 eConsultations [0.9%]). At the start of the pandemic, across all academic medical centers, the percentage of specialty contact conducted via eConsultation significantly increased by 6.21% (95% CI, 4.97%-7.44%; P < .001). When stratified by payer and language, the percentage of specialty contact conducted via eConsultation significantly increased at the beginning of the pandemic for both English-speaking patients (change, 6.09% (95% CI, 4.82% to 7.37%; P < .001) and non-English-speaking patients (change, 8.48% [95% CI, 5.79% to 11.16%]; P < .001) and for all payers, except self-pay and uninsured patients (change, -0.21% [95% CI, [-1.35% to 0.92%]; P = .70).Conclusions and relevanceThis retrospective cohort study found that eConsultations provided an accessible mechanism for clinicians to receive specialist input when in-person care was limited.

Project description:BackgroundEffective interventions aimed at correcting COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, known as fact-checking messages, are needed to combat the mounting antivaccine infodemic and alleviate vaccine hesitancy.ObjectiveThis work investigates (1) the changes in the public's attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines over time, (2) the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine fact-checking information on social media engagement and attitude change, and (3) the emotional and linguistic features of the COVID-19 vaccine fact-checking information ecosystem.MethodsWe collected a data set of 12,553 COVID-19 vaccine fact-checking Facebook posts and their associated comments (N=122,362) from January 2020 to March 2022 and conducted a series of natural language processing and statistical analyses to investigate trends in public attitude toward the vaccine in COVID-19 vaccine fact-checking posts and comments, and emotional and linguistic features of the COVID-19 fact-checking information ecosystem.ResultsThe percentage of fact-checking posts relative to all COVID-19 vaccine posts peaked in May 2020 and then steadily decreased as the pandemic progressed (r=-0.92, df=21, t=-10.94, 95% CI -0.97 to -0.82, P<.001). The salience of COVID-19 vaccine entities was significantly lower in comments (mean 0.03, SD 0.03, t=39.28, P<.001) than in posts (mean 0.09, SD 0.11). Third-party fact checkers have been playing a more important role in more fact-checking over time (r=0.63, df=25, t=4.06, 95% CI 0.33-0.82, P<.001). COVID-19 vaccine fact-checking posts continued to be more analytical (r=0.81, df=25, t=6.88, 95% CI 0.62-0.91, P<.001) and more confident (r=0.59, df=25, t=3.68, 95% CI 0.27-0.79, P=.001) over time. Although comments did not exhibit a significant increase in confidence over time, tentativeness in comments significantly decreased (r=-0.62, df=25, t=-3.94, 95% CI -0.81 to -0.31, P=.001). In addition, although hospitals receive less engagement than other information sources, the comments expressed more positive attitudinal valence in comments compared to other information sources (b=0.06, 95% CI 0.00-0.12, t=2.03, P=.04).ConclusionsThe percentage of fact-checking posts relative to all posts about the vaccine steadily decreased after May 2020. As the pandemic progressed, third-party fact checkers played a larger role in posting fact-checking COVID-19 vaccine posts. COVID-19 vaccine fact-checking posts continued to be more analytical and more confident over time, reflecting increased confidence in posts. Similarly, tentativeness in comments decreased; this likewise suggests that public uncertainty diminished over time. COVID-19 fact-checking vaccine posts from hospitals yielded more positive attitudes toward vaccination than other information sources. At the same time, hospitals received less engagement than other information sources. This suggests that hospitals should invest more in generating engaging public health campaigns on social media.

Dataset Information

Use of Facebook by Academic Medical Centers in Taiwan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study.

Publications

Use of Facebook by Academic Medical Centers in Taiwan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study.

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