Shaping Social Media: Is Twitter an Equitable tool for Professional Development?

Purpose: Twitter has become a powerful tool for professional development in academia. However, studies from the general population suggest that racialized and gender biases disproportionately empower male and white users. We characterized the demographics of Twitter influencers in Canadian healthcar...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Medical Systems Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 1 - 6
Autores principales: Sivayoganathan, Thibacg, Kirpalani, Amrit
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Springer Nature 11/16/2023
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=173963179&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 173963179
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        01485598
        4N0
      jtl: Journal of Medical Systems
      issn: 01485598
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: 11/16/2023
      vid: 47
      iid: 1
      pid: 237
      pub: Springer Nature
      place: New York, New York
    artinfo:
      ui:
        173963179
        173963179
        173963179
        10.1007/s10916-023-02013-3
        173963179
      ppf: 1
      ppct: 5
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
      tig:
        atl: Shaping Social Media: Is Twitter an Equitable tool for Professional Development?
      aug:
        au:
          Sivayoganathan, Thibacg
          Kirpalani, Amrit
        affil: https://ror.org/02grkyz14 Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada
      sug:
        subj:
          Twitter
          Public Figures Canada
          Demography
          Health Care Industry
          Professional Development
          Human
          Algorithms
          Health Services Research
          Health Policy
          Face Perception
          Race Factors
          Sex Factors
          Canada
          Descriptive Statistics
          Two-Way Analysis of Variance
          Post Hoc Analysis
          Male
          Female
          White Persons
          Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
          Male
          Female
      ab: Purpose: Twitter has become a powerful tool for professional development in academia. However, studies from the general population suggest that racialized and gender biases disproportionately empower male and white users. We characterized the demographics of Twitter influencers in Canadian healthcare. Methods: We used the Right Relevance Insight API algorithm to identify Twitter influencers in the healthcare, healthcare research, and health policy domains, and to generated normalized influencer scores based on user connections and engagement. We used facial recognition software to approximate the influencers' race and sex. Results: The majority of influencers identified were white (84%) and/or male (60%). Males had significantly higher influencer scores than females (65.1 ± 8.0 vs. 61.2 ± 6.2, P < 0.05) in health policy. We did not identify any sex- or race-associated disparities among influencers in healthcare or healthcare research. Conclusion: Male users have significantly higher levels of influence in health policy on Twitter. Given the importance of Twitter as a tool for professional development, it is crucial that institutional leaders and policymakers are aware of potential inequities in user reach. Future studies should evaluate additional factors shaping user influence in healthcare on Twitter, with a focus on equity, diversity, and trustworthiness.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N