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Use of social media in urology: data from the A merican U rological A ssociation ( AUA )
Author(s) -
Loeb Stacy,
Bayne Christopher E.,
Frey Christine,
Davies Benjamin J.,
Averch Timothy D.,
Woo Henry H.,
Stork Brian,
Cooperberg Matthew R.,
Eggener Scott E.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
bju international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 1464-4096
DOI - 10.1111/bju.12586
Subject(s) - social media , medicine , psychology , urology , computer science , world wide web
Objective To characterise the use of social media among members of the A merican U rological A ssociation ( AUA ), as the use of social media in medicine has greatly expanded in recent years. Subjects and Methods In D ecember 2012 to J anuary 2013, the AUA e‐mailed a survey with 34 questions on social media use to 2000 randomly selected urologists and 2047 resident/fellow members. Additional data was collected from S ymplur analytics on social media use surrounding the AUA Annual Meeting in M ay 2013. Results In all, 382 (9.4%) surveys were completed, indicating 74% of responders had an online social media account. The most commonly used social media platforms were F acebook (93%), followed in descending order by L inked I n (46%), T witter (36%) and G oogle+ (26%). Being aged <40 years was an important predictor of social media use (83% vs 56%), with greater uptake among residents/fellows compared with attendings (86% vs 66%). Only 28% of respondents used social media partly or entirely for professional purposes. During the 2013 AUA Annual Meeting, there were >5000 tweets from >600 distinct contributors. Conclusion As of early 2013, among respondents to an e‐mail survey, most urologists and urology trainees used some form of social media, and its use in urology conferences has greatly expanded.