Combating Dermatologic Misinformation on Social Media via a Training Program for Health Care Professionals: Protocol...

The rise of social media has drastically altered the landscape of health information dissemination. While these platforms can promote health literacy, they are also rife with skin care misinformation, often spread by nonexperts. This has led to harmful consequences, including improper product use and delayed treatment. Despite their potential to mitigate misinformation, dermatologists and health care professionals remain underrepresented on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

This protocol describes a pilot study designed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a social media training program aimed at equipping dermatology-focused health care professionals and students with skills to create accurate, engaging educational content.

This sequential mixed methods study will be conducted at the University of Pittsburgh. Phase 1 consists of a 5-module online training program completed by 50 health care professionals and students in dermatology or dermatology-adjacent fields. Pretraining and posttraining surveys will be conducted to assess changes in participants' knowledge, confidence, intent to engage in public-facing dermatology education, and satisfaction with the training (posttraining survey only). Phase 2 will involve the selection of 12 participants from phase 1 to apply the training by creating and posting short-form dermatologic educational videos on a study-managed social media channel. Exploratory outcomes include social media engagement metrics, qualitative content analysis of public comments, and individual qualitative interviews with participants to assess audience response and potential knowledge impact.

Recruitment for phase 1 of the study is currently underway. As of January 2026, a total of 46 out of the target 50 participants have been successfully enrolled. Data collection for phase 1 is expected to be completed by the end of April 2026. Data analysis will begin shortly thereafter, with final analyses anticipated to be completed by September 2026. Recruitment for phase 2 is expected to begin in April 2026, with the goal of concluding data collection and analysis by the end of 2028.

This pilot study will inform the feasibility and refinement of social media training interventions designed to empower health care professionals to engage in evidence-based dermatologic health communication online.