Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Background/Aim: Instagram is a widely used visual communication platform with over one billion global users. Its visual and interactive features suggest potential for use in medical education, particularly for asynchronous learning. Materials and Methods: To evaluate effective strategies for account promotion, content design, and outcome measurement, we launched the Instagram account “ilearnonco2021” during a hematology and medical oncology teaching module. Educational posts were uploaded according to a randomized controlled protocol. Post engagement was assessed using ‘likes’ as a surrogate marker for student interest. These assumptions were cross-validated through a post-course survey assessing students’ content preferences. Results: Of 126 enrolled students, 49 (38.9%) subscribed to the account, with the majority recruited following a personalized email and references in the online study guide. Single-slide posts received a similar number of likes as multi-slide posts. Combining clinical trial content with supplementary visuals (e.g., comics, mnemonics, images) did not significantly increase engagement compared to single-slide trial posts. Posts in the category “mnemonics” received significantly more likes than clinical trial posts (p=0.01). Compared to a prior cohort, the current group showed a significantly lower rate of engagement, measured in likes per follower and post. Conclusion: Instagram may serve as a supportive tool for asynchronous learning in medical education. However, its capacity to increase interest in clinical research appears limited. While ‘likes’ can indicate trends in engagement, they should be cross-validated with independent user surveys to ensure reliability.
Source: In Vivo
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funder: Universitätsmedizin Göttingen
OpenAlex ID: W4415691436
FWCI:
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: