Social Media in Health Science Education: An International Survey

Area of Science:

• Health Science Education
• Digital Health
• Medical Ethics

Background:

• Social media offers educational benefits for higher education students.
• Adoption of social media in health science education is slow, with unclear reasons.
• This study addresses the gap in understanding social media's role in health education.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine health science students' opinions on social media in education.
• Identify factors discouraging social media use among these students.
• Assess the need for social media training and policies in health science programs.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Universitas 21 "Use of social media in health education" survey.
• Data collected electronically from 1640 health science students across 8 universities in 7 countries.
• Respondents categorized as users or nonusers based on social media frequency in education.

Main Results:

• Over 81% of students use social media in their education.
• Only 35% received social media training; most untrained students desire it.
• Top barriers include policy uncertainty, professionalism concerns, and lack of departmental support.
• Significant number of users (20.5%) shared clinical images without explicit permission.

Conclusions:

• A substantial number of health science students inappropriately share clinical images.
• There is a clear demand for specific social media policies and training in health science education.
• Addressing barriers and providing training is crucial for responsible social media integration.