An exploration of the reach of the #MakeSpace4Research hashtag

Abstract

Background: Use of social media to communicate with and engage health professionals is increasing. A communications campaign at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust used a Twitter hashtag to improve the visibility of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals research. Aim: This study aimed to explore the reach of the #MakeSpace4Research campaign during its first 12 months. Methods: Between November 2018 and 2019, data on all tweets containing #MakeSpace4Research were examined using an online analytical tool. The studied variables were: total reach; total impressions; unique authors; total retweets; total mentions; and top tweeters. All these were collated using two separate variables: matching tweets and impact. Findings: #MakeSpace4Research appeared in 6884 tweets, involving 1085 individual Twitter accounts, resulting in more than 16 million impressions. Mentions and impressions both increased threefold, and unique authors more than doubled over the 12-month period. A spike in activity was noted after the campaign was launched at a nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals research conference in May 2019. Conclusion: The #MakeSpace4Research campaign has the potential to connect online communities of research-interested nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.