Social Media in Pediatric Surgery: Patient Perceptions and Utilization

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Health Informatics
• Social Media in Healthcare

Background:

• Social media is a primary information source for many individuals.
• Limited data exists on social media use by parents in pediatric surgery.
• This study addresses this gap by exploring parental social media utilization and perceptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine parents' use of social media for pediatric surgery information.
• To assess patient families' perceptions of pediatric surgeons' social media roles.

Main Methods:

• Voluntary electronic survey distributed to parents of children aged 0-14 years.
• Data collected on demographics, social media usage, and attitudes toward pediatric surgeons on social media.
• 227 parent responses analyzed.

Main Results:

• 90.3% of respondents use multiple social media platforms.
• 50.7% of parents have searched social media for their child's medical condition.
• 85.58% of parents want pediatric surgeons active on social media.

Conclusions:

• Social media is integral to healthcare information seeking.
• Parents actively use social media for pediatric surgical condition information.
• Pediatric surgeons should establish an online presence to engage and inform patients and families.