Use of Social Media as a Platform for Education and Support for People With Diabetes During a Global Pandemic

Rebecca L. Thomas; Victoria Alabraba; Sam Barnard; Hannah Beba; Julie Brake; Alison Cox; Rachael Bowker; Donna Edwards; Amanda Epps; Tamsin Fletcher-Salt; Patrick Holmes; Partha S. Kar; Nusrat Kausar; Bethany Kelly; Maria Leveridge; Phillip Newland-Jones; Sze May Ng; Amar Puttana; Rose Stewart

doi:10.1177/19322968211054862

Use of Social Media as a Platform for Education and Support for People With Diabetes During a Global Pandemic

Rebecca L. Thomas^*
, Victoria Alabraba
, Sam Barnard
, Hannah Beba
, Julie Brake
, Alison Cox
, Rachael Bowker
, Donna Edwards
, Amanda Epps
, Tamsin Fletcher-Salt
, Patrick Holmes
, Partha S. Kar
, Nusrat Kausar
, Bethany Kelly
, Maria Leveridge
, Phillip Newland-Jones
, Sze May Ng
, Amar Puttana
, Rose Stewart

^*Corresponding author for this work

Medical School

Swansea University
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust
Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust
University of Liverpool
Camden Health Partners Ltd
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Medway NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
St. Georges Medical Practice
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust
West Leeds Primary Care Network
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Department of Paediatrics
Southport & Ormskirk Hospitals NHS Trust
Department of Women's and Children's Health
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (journal) › peer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

11 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: Patient education is a fundamental aspect of self-management of diabetes. The aim of this study was to understand whether a social media platform is a viable method to deliver education to people with diabetes and understand if people would engage and interact with it. Methods: Education sessions were provided via 3 platforms in a variety of formats. “Tweetorials” and quizzes were delivered on the diabetes101 Twitter account, a virtual conference via Zoom and video presentations uploaded to YouTube. Audience engagement during and after the sessions were analyzed using social media metrics including impressions and engagement rate using Twitter analytics, Tweepsmap, and YouTube Studio. Results: A total of 22 “tweetorial” sessions and 5 quizzes with a total of 151 polls (both in tweetorial and quiz sessions) receiving a total of 21,269 votes took place. Overall, the 1-h tweetorial sessions gained 1,821,088 impressions with an engagement rate of 6.3%. The sessions received a total of 2,341 retweets, 2,467 replies and 10,060 likes. The quiz days included 113 polls receiving 16,069 votes. The conference covered 8 topics and was attended live by over 100 people on the day. The video presentations on YouTube have received a total of 2,916 views with a watch time of 281 h and 8,847 impressions. Conclusion: Despite the limitations of social media, it can be harnessed to provide relevant reliable information and education about diabetes allowing people the time and space to learn at their own pace.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	353-363
Number of pages	11
Journal	Journal of diabetes science and technology
Volume	17
Issue number	2
Early online date	31 Oct 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/19322968211054862
Publication status	Published - 31 Mar 2023

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

diabetes
education
peer support
self-management
social media

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10.1177/19322968211054862Licence: CC BY-NC

Use of Social Media as a Platform for Education and Support for People With Diabetes During a Global PandemicFinal published version, 1.25 MBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

Thomas, R. L., Alabraba, V., Barnard, S., Beba, H., Brake, J., Cox, A., Bowker, R., Edwards, D., Epps, A., Fletcher-Salt, T., Holmes, P., Kar, P. S., Kausar, N., Kelly, B., Leveridge, M., Newland-Jones, P., Ng, S. M., Puttana, A., & Stewart, R. (2023). Use of Social Media as a Platform for Education and Support for People With Diabetes During a Global Pandemic. Journal of diabetes science and technology, 17(2), 353-363. https://doi.org/10.1177/19322968211054862

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title = "Use of Social Media as a Platform for Education and Support for People With Diabetes During a Global Pandemic",

abstract = "Background: Patient education is a fundamental aspect of self-management of diabetes. The aim of this study was to understand whether a social media platform is a viable method to deliver education to people with diabetes and understand if people would engage and interact with it. Methods: Education sessions were provided via 3 platforms in a variety of formats. “Tweetorials” and quizzes were delivered on the diabetes101 Twitter account, a virtual conference via Zoom and video presentations uploaded to YouTube. Audience engagement during and after the sessions were analyzed using social media metrics including impressions and engagement rate using Twitter analytics, Tweepsmap, and YouTube Studio. Results: A total of 22 “tweetorial” sessions and 5 quizzes with a total of 151 polls (both in tweetorial and quiz sessions) receiving a total of 21,269 votes took place. Overall, the 1-h tweetorial sessions gained 1,821,088 impressions with an engagement rate of 6.3\%. The sessions received a total of 2,341 retweets, 2,467 replies and 10,060 likes. The quiz days included 113 polls receiving 16,069 votes. The conference covered 8 topics and was attended live by over 100 people on the day. The video presentations on YouTube have received a total of 2,916 views with a watch time of 281 h and 8,847 impressions. Conclusion: Despite the limitations of social media, it can be harnessed to provide relevant reliable information and education about diabetes allowing people the time and space to learn at their own pace.",

keywords = "diabetes, education, peer support, self-management, social media",

author = "Thomas, \{Rebecca L.\} and Victoria Alabraba and Sam Barnard and Hannah Beba and Julie Brake and Alison Cox and Rachael Bowker and Donna Edwards and Amanda Epps and Tamsin Fletcher-Salt and Patrick Holmes and Kar, \{Partha S.\} and Nusrat Kausar and Bethany Kelly and Maria Leveridge and Phillip Newland-Jones and Ng, \{Sze May\} and Amar Puttana and Rose Stewart",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Diabetes Technology Society.",

year = "2023",

month = mar,

day = "31",

doi = "10.1177/19322968211054862",

language = "English",

volume = "17",

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journal = "Journal of diabetes science and technology",

issn = "1932-2968",

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Thomas, RL, Alabraba, V, Barnard, S, Beba, H, Brake, J, Cox, A, Bowker, R, Edwards, D, Epps, A, Fletcher-Salt, T, Holmes, P, Kar, PS, Kausar, N, Kelly, B, Leveridge, M, Newland-Jones, P, Ng, SM, Puttana, A & Stewart, R 2023, 'Use of Social Media as a Platform for Education and Support for People With Diabetes During a Global Pandemic', Journal of diabetes science and technology, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 353-363. https://doi.org/10.1177/19322968211054862

TY - JOUR

T1 - Use of Social Media as a Platform for Education and Support for People With Diabetes During a Global Pandemic

AU - Thomas, Rebecca L.

AU - Alabraba, Victoria

AU - Barnard, Sam

AU - Beba, Hannah

AU - Brake, Julie

AU - Cox, Alison

AU - Bowker, Rachael

AU - Edwards, Donna

AU - Epps, Amanda

AU - Fletcher-Salt, Tamsin

AU - Holmes, Patrick

AU - Kar, Partha S.

AU - Kausar, Nusrat

AU - Kelly, Bethany

AU - Leveridge, Maria

AU - Newland-Jones, Phillip

AU - Ng, Sze May

AU - Puttana, Amar

AU - Stewart, Rose

PY - 2023/3/31

Y1 - 2023/3/31

N2 - Background: Patient education is a fundamental aspect of self-management of diabetes. The aim of this study was to understand whether a social media platform is a viable method to deliver education to people with diabetes and understand if people would engage and interact with it. Methods: Education sessions were provided via 3 platforms in a variety of formats. “Tweetorials” and quizzes were delivered on the diabetes101 Twitter account, a virtual conference via Zoom and video presentations uploaded to YouTube. Audience engagement during and after the sessions were analyzed using social media metrics including impressions and engagement rate using Twitter analytics, Tweepsmap, and YouTube Studio. Results: A total of 22 “tweetorial” sessions and 5 quizzes with a total of 151 polls (both in tweetorial and quiz sessions) receiving a total of 21,269 votes took place. Overall, the 1-h tweetorial sessions gained 1,821,088 impressions with an engagement rate of 6.3%. The sessions received a total of 2,341 retweets, 2,467 replies and 10,060 likes. The quiz days included 113 polls receiving 16,069 votes. The conference covered 8 topics and was attended live by over 100 people on the day. The video presentations on YouTube have received a total of 2,916 views with a watch time of 281 h and 8,847 impressions. Conclusion: Despite the limitations of social media, it can be harnessed to provide relevant reliable information and education about diabetes allowing people the time and space to learn at their own pace.

AB - Background: Patient education is a fundamental aspect of self-management of diabetes. The aim of this study was to understand whether a social media platform is a viable method to deliver education to people with diabetes and understand if people would engage and interact with it. Methods: Education sessions were provided via 3 platforms in a variety of formats. “Tweetorials” and quizzes were delivered on the diabetes101 Twitter account, a virtual conference via Zoom and video presentations uploaded to YouTube. Audience engagement during and after the sessions were analyzed using social media metrics including impressions and engagement rate using Twitter analytics, Tweepsmap, and YouTube Studio. Results: A total of 22 “tweetorial” sessions and 5 quizzes with a total of 151 polls (both in tweetorial and quiz sessions) receiving a total of 21,269 votes took place. Overall, the 1-h tweetorial sessions gained 1,821,088 impressions with an engagement rate of 6.3%. The sessions received a total of 2,341 retweets, 2,467 replies and 10,060 likes. The quiz days included 113 polls receiving 16,069 votes. The conference covered 8 topics and was attended live by over 100 people on the day. The video presentations on YouTube have received a total of 2,916 views with a watch time of 281 h and 8,847 impressions. Conclusion: Despite the limitations of social media, it can be harnessed to provide relevant reliable information and education about diabetes allowing people the time and space to learn at their own pace.

KW - diabetes

KW - education

KW - peer support

KW - self-management

KW - social media

U2 - 10.1177/19322968211054862

DO - 10.1177/19322968211054862

M3 - Article (journal)

C2 - 34719972

SN - 1932-2968

VL - 17

SP - 353

EP - 363

JO - Journal of diabetes science and technology

JF - Journal of diabetes science and technology

IS - 2

ER -

Use of Social Media as a Platform for Education and Support for People With Diabetes During a Global Pandemic

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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