This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Medical Education, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://mededu.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
The implementation of interprofessional education (IPE) activities into health care education is a challenge for many training programs owing to time and location constraints of both faculty and learners. The integration of social media into these IPE activities may provide a solution to these problems.
This review of the published literature aims to identify health care IPE activities using social media.
The authors searched 5 databases (from the beginning coverage date to May 27, 2017) using keywords related to IPE and social media. Teams of 2 authors independently reviewed the search results to identify peer-reviewed, English language papers reporting on IPE activities using social media. They assessed the study quality of identified papers using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument.
A total of 8 studies met the review’s inclusion criteria. Of these 8 papers, 3 had single-group, posttest-only study design; 4 had single-group, pre- and posttest design; and 1 had nonrandomized 3-group design. Qualitative and quantitative outcome measures showed mixed results with the majority of student feedback being positive.
Despite a need for additional research, this review suggests that the use of social media may aid the implementation of health care IPE.
The need to integrate interprofessional education (IPE) activities into health care education is a topic of growing importance. Members of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative, including national associations such as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and Association of American Medical Colleges, value IPE and encourage institutions to create opportunities for health care trainees and practitioners from different disciplines to learn with, from, and about each other [
The use of social media may provide a solution to many of the challenges inherent to IPE encountered by health care educators. Commonly used for personal social networking, social media tools provide a unique way for IPE learners to broaden their professional networks without the time and location constraints inherent to in-person networking [
We searched the literature in 5 key databases (PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, Education Source, Education Full Text, and Academic Source Complete) from each database’s beginning coverage date through our search date (May 27, 2017) for papers on the use of social media in health care IPE. The databases were selected because of their comprehensive representation of available peer-reviewed journals, as well as their dedicated scope in the relevant disciplines to this topic (eg, medicine, nursing, allied health, and education). Key search concepts were selected with their Medical Subject Headings terms and other controlled vocabulary equivalents, as well as related keywords—“social media” OR “social networking” AND “interprofessional education (IPE)” OR “interprofessional learning” (
We then transferred titles and abstracts identified by this search into a reference management system. Two authors (ANR and MSC) independently evaluated each abstract to determine whether the paper potentially met the following
Two authors (ANR and MSC) independently extracted relevant data from the included paper. The original version of the Kirkpatrick Model was used to assess each study’s outcome measures. Reviewers identified each study’s Kirkpatrick hierarchy level [
Our initial database search identified 48 unique titles, of which we selected 24 for full-text review (
Study participants encompassed students from a broad range of professions as follows: nursing (7 studies), medicine (5 studies), pharmacy (5 studies), occupational therapy (2 studies), dentistry (2 studies), dental hygiene (1 study), physical therapy (1 study), radiography (1 study), and public health (1 study). A variety of social media tools and software were used as part of the educational intervention, with some studies using multiple tools as follows: blogs (2 studies), Wikis (2 studies), discussion boards (2 studies), Ning (1 study), and Second Life (1 study). Studies used quantitative (1 study), qualitative (4 studies), and mixed-method (3 studies) outcome measures. Most measured outcomes at the level of learner perceptions (5 studies), a few at the level of learner social media use behavior (3 studies), and none at the level of skills or patient outcomes. The included studies MERSQI scores ranged from 6 to 11.5.
The one single-group, posttest-only study that reported quantitative results found that 68% of students deposited information on (ie, contributed to) the Wiki, 42% edited the Wiki, and 20% visited the Wiki only to view content [
Of 3 single-group, pre- and posttest studies, only one compared learners’ pre- and posttest on validated quantitative measures [Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) and Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS)] [
The flow diagram of search methods and results of the review on social media use in interprofessional education.
Only one study, which received the highest MERSQI score, was designed to compare multiple interventions delivered to interprofessional groups of learners and found no significant differences in IEPS and RIPLS scores among the 3 groups, although no
Many interprofessional learners are familiar with the personal use of social media, particularly the use of social networking sites. One study found that 90% of students used social media regularly, and many students report they engage in social networking despite a heavy academic load [
The included studies used a variety of methods to integrate social media into IPE activities and, thus, bring together learners from a wide range of health care disciplines. Paired learning, virtual simulation platforms, blogs, and Wikis were among the social media tools used. Health care educators developed IPE activities with the intention of increasing learner knowledge and clinical skills in an interprofessional environment. Competencies from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and the Interprofessional Education Collaborative were considered in the development of learning activities [
Feedback from learners was often positive, with many stating social networking activities provided a unique opportunity for collaboration, allowing them to gain unique perspectives from other disciplines in a flexible format [
Although this review identified only a limited number of studies, this most likely reflects the emerging nature of the use of social media in IPE. More rigorous research on the effectiveness of social media tools, as well as future Web-based tools in IPE, needs to be conducted. A thorough discussion of this review in the context of IPE literature cannot be performed, as there are currently no published reviews on this topic. However, systematic reviews on social media use in medical and nursing education are available. The use of social media in these fields has been associated with improved knowledge, attitudes, and skills, as well as the promotion of learner engagement and professional development [
Many studies in the review evaluated participant feedback rather than formally assessing the acquired knowledge. Although the papers mention the need to consider a variety of professional competencies in curriculum planning, limited information was available on how those learner competencies were evaluated. In addition, evaluation criteria were often informal and provided limited information on learning outcomes. The lack of consistency between methods used to evaluate learner outcomes is an inherent limitation of the review. Additional feedback, including how social media can be used to transform learning environments into a space that flattens professional hierarchical structure, would be valuable [
This review provides valuable information on the variety of social media tools available and presents a good case for the use of social media to overcome many challenges with IPE learning activities, including schedules, meeting locations, and limited faculty and financial support. Overall, learner feedback was positive with many studies highlighting the flexibility of the learning environment. Although additional evidence is needed, these findings suggest that the integration of social media into interprofessional learning activities can be a valuable health care teaching method.
Search terms for review on social media use in interprofessional education (IPE).
Major findings and quality assessment of studies of social media use in interprofessional education identified by the review, grouped by the study design.
Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale
Interprofessional education
Medical Education Research Quality Instrument
Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
None declared.