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Introduction: Social media (SM) is online platforms that individuals share contents, ideas, videos or blogs. SM use has arisen as a catalyst of social change and can be a promising tool for healthcare delivery. Esophagus motility disorders (EMD) are rare disorders that present with various symptoms such as dyspaghia. There are not many studies that search the influence of SM on patients’ treatment choice. Present study aimed to search the infleunce of social media on EMD patients’ treatment choice.
Material and Methods: Patients referred for treatment of EMD were enrolled into the study. Questionnaire was used to assess the influence of SM on treatment choice. Participants were asked whether they use SM and search information about EMD treatments. They were divided into three groups according to their SM use and admission type. (Group 1: patients referred by health care provider (HCP) and who did not seek information from SM. Group 2: patients referred by HCP and who seek information from SM. Group 3: patients who admitted directly without referance of HCP after seeking information from SM). Influence of SM on treatment choices were compared between these groups.
Results: It was found that group 2 patients choosed treatment options that they previously seek from SM rather than HCP recommended. Group 1 patients’ acceptance rate was 37,9 %, whereas group 3 and group 1 were 7,9 % and 40% respectively. The difference was statistically significant. (p <0.001)
Conclusion: Present study showed that SM has influence on patients’ treatment choice. They can choose a treatment option that are not recommended by HCP in first line. Patients choice did not contradict with scientific evidence in this example but it may not always happen like this way. Although SM use has a potential to contribute to better healthcare delivery, it has ethical, legal, social considerations. There is current lack of official recommendations for SM use in healthcare for both HCPs and patiens. Further guidelines must be developed to utilize SM use in healthcare in an effective manner.