Facebook Attitudes and Behaviors of Students and Therapists in the Professional Fields of

1. Facebook Attitudes and Behaviors of Students and Therapists in the Professional Fields of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Language Pathology Elyse Connors, MA, Thomas Sather, MA, Amy Yorke, MPT, and Amy Curtis, PhD PhD Program in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences *Indicates significant at the p < .05 level ** indicates significant at the p < .01 level INTRODUCTION RESULTS DISCUSSION Survey questions and response frequencies Study Goal: To examine Facebook attitudes and behaviors of students and therapists in the field of PT, OT, and SLP Methods: Study data was collected by use of electronic survey . Link for survey was posted on Facebook pages of the APTA, AOTA, ASHA. Results: Therapists and students demonstrate similar attitudes and behaviors regarding accountability and accuracy of personal profile. Differences existed between the groups on friending and posting behaviors. Conclusions: As the utilization of Facebook increases, health care providers and students need to be aware of the potential professional implications. Several similarities and significant differences are noted between graduate students and therapists in regard to Fb attitudes and behaviors. Both groups felt their own Fb profiles more accurately reflected themselves personally than professionally, raising the issue of motivation and purpose for Fb use. The issue of professional identity in one’s Fb profile takes on greater relevance given the frequency of human resources departments using social media profiles in hiring decisions. Friending behaviors are noted to be significantly different among the two groups and may be potentially influenced by intent of Fb usage. In the healthcare environment, patients have become more active in their healthcare management and in searching outinformation regarding their providers, including using Fb to establish relationships. PURPOSE CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS Online social networking such as Facebook (Fb) allows users to generate an individual profile and share written postings, photos, and videos with other Fb subscribers.1 Health Care Providers (HCP) have expectations of upholding professional behavior. There are numerous reports of HCPs losing their job secondary to unprofessional Fb postings. Current research on Fb use within health care has focused on medical students2, pharmacy students3, and academic administrators4-5. There have been no studies looking specifically at the rehabilitative fields of PT, OT, and SLP or comparing students to therapists. Research question : Are there differences in Fb attitudes and behaviors of students and therapists in PT, OT, and SLP. Results for crude and adjusted logistic regression analysis Key Findings: Significant differences exist among Fb attitudes and behaviors between students and therapists. Similarities also exist among Fb attitudes and behaviors between students and therapists. Factors of motivation and membership intent influence posting behavior. The context of Facebook leads to the potential for conflict of one’s personal and professional image for both students and therapists. The utility and access of Fb make it a potential resource for employers and patients to gather information about HCP. Limitations: Convenience sample, self-report, generalizability Recommendations: It is recommended that institutions carefully review and formulate existing policies of professionalism and utilization of Fb. Factor analysis would be beneficial to explore relevant constructs concerning Fb attitudes and behaviors. Additionally, further investigation of other disciplines, academic programs, and employers of HCP would provide further information on the utilization of Fb and the impact on HCP, students, academicians, and employers. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 • Similarities between Therapists and Students: • Accountability for an illegal act discovered through Fb posting • Accountability for an unprofessional act discovered through Fb posting • Fb image accurately represents self as a professional • Fb postings affect peoples opinions of the health care professional METHODS Design: Survey research utilizing Qualtrics™ software. Survey consisted of a maximum of 16 yes/no questions. Survey used was modified slightly from a survey previously utilized in pharmacy students.3 Sample: Convenience sample of graduate students and therapists in the professional fields of PT, OT, and SLP. Procedures: Study description and survey link were posted on the Fb pages of the APTA, AOTA, and ASHA. Survey was open for 5 weeks. Statistics: Descriptive and logistic regression controlling for the confounding variables of age and professional status. • Differences between Therapists and Students: • Age was a statistically significant predictor of posting behavior on Fb. • As respondents get older, they are more likely to have posted something on Fbthat they would not want a potential employer, faculty member/current employer, or patientto view. REFERENCES • Facebook. Facebook Statistics. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Facebook-statistics/119768528069029. Accessibility verified April 23, 2011. • Garner J, O’Sullivan H. Facebook and the professional behaviors of undergraduate medical students. The Clinical Teacher. 2010;7(2):112-115. • Cain J, Scott DR, Akers P. Pharmacy students’ Facebook Activity and opinions regarding accountability and e-professionalism. Am J Pharm Educ. 2009;73(6). • Cain J, Scorr DR, Smith K. Use of social media by residency program directors for resident selection. American Journal Health-System Pharmacy. 2010:67:1635-1639. • Chretien, KC, Greysen SR, Chretien JP, Kind T. Online posting of unprofessional content by medical students. JAMA. 2009;302(12):1309. RESULTS Demographics: • Differences between Therapists and Students: • Areas where professional status as a statistically significant predictor • Therapist are 6.93 times more likely to say their Fb image represents them accurately as a person. • Students are 3.70 times more likely to want a faculty member “friend” them versus a therapist wanting their employer to friend them. • Therapist are 2.89 times more likely to have had a patient ask to “friend” them. Disciplines Gender Professional Status Professional Status by Discipline