Jennifer Novak1, Yujie Cui2, Paul Frankel2, Mina S Sedrak3, Scott Glaser1, Richard Li1, Sabin Motwani4, Brian Kavanagh5, Arya Amini6. 1. Department of Radiation Oncology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California. 2. Department of Computational and Quantitative Medicine, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California. 3. Department of Medical Oncology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California. 4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute, New Brunswick, New Jersey. 5. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Colorado, Colorado. 6. Department of Radiation Oncology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California. Electronic address: aamini@coh.org.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Twitter is an increasingly popular social media platform within the health care community. The objective of this analysis is to characterize the profile of radiation oncology-related tweets and Twitter users over the past 6 years. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Using the web-based social media analytics platform Symplur Signals, we filtered tweets containing at least 1 of the following hashtags or key words: #radonc, #radiationoncology, "rad onc," or "radiation oncology." We evaluated radiation oncology-related Twitter activity between October 2014 and March 2020 for tweet frequency, tweet content, and individuals or groups posting tweets. We identified the most influential Twitter users contributing to radiation oncology-related tweets. RESULTS: From 2014 to 2020, the quarterly volume of radiation oncology-related tweets increased from 5027 to 29,763. Physicians contributed the largest growth in tweet volume. Academic radiation oncologists comprise 60% of the most influential Twitter accounts responsible for radiation oncology-related content. The number of radiation-oncology resident physicians on Twitter increased from 25 to 328 over the past 6 years, and 20% of radiation-oncology residency programs have a Twitter account. Seventy-one percent of radiation oncology-related tweets generated direct communication via mentions, and 59% of tweets contain links to external sources, including scientific articles. CONCLUSIONS: The number of physicians contributing radiation oncology-related Twitter content has increased significantly in recent years. Academic radiation oncologists are the primary influencers of radiation oncology-related Twitter activity. Twitter is used by radiation oncologists to both professionally network and discuss findings related to the field. There remains the opportunity for radiation oncologists to broaden their audience on Twitter to encompass a more diverse community, including patients.
PURPOSE: Twitter is an increasingly popular social media platform within the health care community. The objective of this analysis is to characterize the profile of radiation oncology-related tweets and Twitter users over the past 6 years. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Using the web-based social media analytics platform Symplur Signals, we filtered tweets containing at least 1 of the following hashtags or key words: #radonc, #radiationoncology, "rad onc," or "radiation oncology." We evaluated radiation oncology-related Twitter activity between October 2014 and March 2020 for tweet frequency, tweet content, and individuals or groups posting tweets. We identified the most influential Twitter users contributing to radiation oncology-related tweets. RESULTS: From 2014 to 2020, the quarterly volume of radiation oncology-related tweets increased from 5027 to 29,763. Physicians contributed the largest growth in tweet volume. Academic radiation oncologists comprise 60% of the most influential Twitter accounts responsible for radiation oncology-related content. The number of radiation-oncology resident physicians on Twitter increased from 25 to 328 over the past 6 years, and 20% of radiation-oncology residency programs have a Twitter account. Seventy-one percent of radiation oncology-related tweets generated direct communication via mentions, and 59% of tweets contain links to external sources, including scientific articles. CONCLUSIONS: The number of physicians contributing radiation oncology-related Twitter content has increased significantly in recent years. Academic radiation oncologists are the primary influencers of radiation oncology-related Twitter activity. Twitter is used by radiation oncologists to both professionally network and discuss findings related to the field. There remains the opportunity for radiation oncologists to broaden their audience on Twitter to encompass a more diverse community, including patients.
Authors: Luca F Valle; Fang-I Chu; Marc Smith; Chenyang Wang; Percy Lee; Drew Moghanaki; Fumiko L Chino; Michael L Steinberg; Ann C Raldow Journal: Adv Radiat Oncol Date: 2022-03-23
Authors: Jake X Checketts; Tyler Hunt; Beaun R Checketts; Jared T Scott; Mark Johnson; Marshall Boose; Mark Schwartz; Brian Chalkin Journal: JB JS Open Access Date: 2021-12-21