ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2671

Interdisciplinary - Education in radiation therapy

ESTRO 2024

894

Digital Poster

Use of Social Media in Radiation Oncology: Multicenter Data from the GOCO Group

Marta Bonet 1 , Enar Recalde 2 , Ana M Soto-Cambres 3 , Alvaro Martinez 4 , Mauricio Murcia 5 , Miriam Nuñez 6 , Joel Mases 7 , Juan C Yufera 8 , Ana Alvarez 9 , Nicolas Feltes 10 , Ludovic Hernandez 11 , Luis Ramos 12 , Virginia Garcia 1 1 Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Radiation Oncology, Lleida, Spain. 2 Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Radiation Oncology, Barcelona, Spain. 3 Hospital de Sant Pau, Radiation Oncology, Barcelona, Spain. 4 Hospital del Mar, Radiation Oncology, Barcelona, Spain. 5 Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus, Radiation Oncology, Reus, Spain. 6 Institut Català d'Oncologia, Radiation Oncology, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain. 7 Hospital Clínic, Radiation Oncology, Barcelona, Spain. 8 Institut du Cancer de Montpellier, Radiation Oncology, Montpellier, France. 9 Institut Català d'Oncologia, Radiation Oncology, Badalona, Spain. 10 Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, Radiation Oncology, Terrassa, Spain. 11 Institut universitaire du cancer de Toulouse Oncopole, Radiation Oncology, Toulouse, France. 12 Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Radiation Physics, Lleida, Spain

Purpose/Objective:

This study investigates the utilization patterns and profiles of social media (SM) platforms by professionals in Radiation Oncology and Radiation Physics at the Occitan and Catalan Oncology Group (GOCO) centers, which deliver radiation therapy services to a population of approximately 14 million inhabitants in the south of Europe.

Material/Methods:

Between November 2022 and March 2023, a comprehensive survey was distributed to Radiation Oncology professionals, including Physicians and Physicists, within the GOCO group across 12 centers, comprising 10 in Catalonia and 2 in French Occitania. The survey consisted of 31 questions, covering demographic and general inquiries (4+9), SM usage patterns (7), profiles of social media activity (7), and participants' opinions (4) concerning professional use of social media. Data collection was facilitated through the Google Forms platform, ensuring voluntary and anonymous participation.

Results:

The response rate was 61.37% (178/290 professionals) at a mean age of 41.9 years. 120 (67%) were Radiation Oncologists (RO) and 58 (33%) were Physicists. Instagram was the most frequently used SM platform (n=116), followed by Facebook (n=107) and Twitter (n=77). There was an inverse correlation between age and the number of SM platforms used (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient -0.238, p = 0.001). Physicians showed a higher frequency of engagement with Instagram and Twitter, while Physicists predominantly utilized Facebook (p-value for Cohen's kappa 2 = 0.46). 28% (n=42) of participants have made changes to their clinical practice based on information published on SM. A higher proportion of Physicians reported to spent 2 hours or more in comparison to Physicists (p-value for Cohen's kappa 2 = 0.07). A 41.8% (n=64) of respondents expressed no concerns about emotional management of information on SM, however 22.9% (n=35) felt overwhelmed by information overload.

Conclusion: