Clinical Ophthalmology (Mar 2022)
Ophthalmology and Social Media: An In-Depth Investigation of Ophthalmologic Content on Instagram
Abstract
Andy S Huang,1 Ali Adel Ne’ma Abdullah,2 Kelsey Chen,3 Dagny Zhu4 1Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA; 2St Helier Hospital, Sutton, London, UK; 3Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA; 4Hyperspeed LASIK/NVISION Eye Centers, Rowland Heights, CA, USACorrespondence: Andy S Huang, Tel +1 678 314 0208, Email [email protected]: Social media has become a popular source of health information for patients. This study aimed to characterize the top-performing ophthalmologic posts on a large social media platform to better understand the spread of ophthalmic information via social media.Materials and Methods: This was a web-based study that searched for ophthalmology-related posts on Instagram, with subjects being users who posted ophthalmic content. A list of 36 ophthalmology-related hashtags, including the most common diagnoses and procedures identified from the IRIS Registry, was queried. For each hashtag, data were collected for “Top 9 posts” (as ranked by Instagram’s engagement-based algorithm) at three different time points. Posts were analyzed for the poster’s background, credentials, post format, content, caption length, and engagement level.Results: Of the top-performing posts analyzed (n = 972), the most frequent post format was a photo (82.2%), followed by video (8.8%) and graphic (8.4%). Ophthalmologists (35.8%) authored the highest number of posts, followed by patients (27.1%), optometrists (20.1%), and organizations (12.7%). The highest average engagement level ratios (ELRs) belonged to ophthalmologists-in-training (0.096), followed by patients (0.084), optometrists (0.070), all ophthalmologists (0.067) and organizations (0.051); p < 0.001. The most engaging type of content was self-promotional (0.118) and personal experience-related (0.091); educational content was the least engaging (0.059) even though it comprised the majority of posts (56%); (p < 0.001). Characteristics that predicted the highest ELRs (reaching 80th percentile) were captions and/or images that featured personal experiences (3.335 OR), whitecoats (3.259), and those authored by ophthalmologist trainees (3.172); (p < 0.01). The least engaging were those featuring fundus photos (0.281), educational content (0.359), and authored by organizations (0.428); (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The majority of ophthalmologic content on Instagram is authored by non-ophthalmologists, with educational content being the least engaging. Practicing ophthalmologists have an opportunity to reach more patients through social media by incorporating specific features known to drive post engagement and reach.Precis: Social media has become a popular source of health information for patients. Our study demonstrates that the majority of ophthalmology content on Instagram is authored by non- ophthalmologists, with educational content being the least engaging. Practicing ophthalmologists have an opportunity to reach a wider audience through social media by incorporating specific features known to drive post engagement and reach.Keywords: ophthalmology, social media, Instagram, education, engagement, content, optometrist, ophthalmologist, patient, hashtag, engagement level ratio
