Misinformation regarding vaccination

Social media use and vaccine hesitancy in the European Union

Massimiliano Mascherini and Sanna Nivakoski

Vaccine, 2022-03-25, Volume 40, Issue 14, Pages 2215-2225

Social media can serve as a forum for the proliferation of vaccination misinformation and
as a platform for the anti-vaccination movement [11] . Well before the COVID-19 pandemic,
it has been demonstrated that exposure to vaccine-critical websites and blogs negatively
impacts the intention to vaccinate [15] . Furthermore, it has been found that using social media
as a source of health information has a significant negative association with influenza vaccine
uptake [16]. Misinformation regarding COVID-19 and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2
emerged on social media platforms, threatening to erode public confidence [9] .

11. S. L. Wilson, C. Wiysonge, Social media and vaccine hesitancy, BMJ Global Health 5 (10) (2020) e004206. 305
15. Betsch C., Renkewitz F., Betsch T., Ulshöfer C.: The influence of vaccine-critical websites on perceiving vaccination risks.
Journal of Health Psychology 2010; 15: pp. 446-455.
16. Ahmed N., Quinn S.C., Hancock G.R., Freimuth V.S., Jamison A.: Social media use and influenza vaccine uptake among white
and African American adults. Vaccine 2018; 36: pp. 7556-7561.
9. Puri N., Coomes E.A., Haghbayan H., Gunaratne K.: Social media and vaccine hesitancy: new updates for the era of COVID-19
and globalized infectious diseases. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 2020; pp. 1-8.

Cyberbullying

Perils and Pitfalls of Social Media Use

Article in Press: Corrected Proof

Jennifer Caceres MD and Allison Holley MD

Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice,

Looking beyond display of risky behaviors and its consequences, the constant availability of
social media may also amplify the expectations of accessibility by friends leading to peer
pressure to constantly be available. [7] Moreover cyberbullying, defined as “willful and
repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic
devices,” [8] can have even farther-reaching impacts than traditional bullying due to the
degree of anonymity social media affords users and the increased amount of time available to
expose teens to cyberbullying. This has resulted in concerns of increased rates of mental
health issues, including suicide. Furthermore, although social media may increase
accessibility to information and education, it also increases access to misinformation and
misuse of information, including those found on pro-self-harm and pro-eating
disorder websites.

7. Fox J., Moreland J.J.: The dark side of social networking sites: An exploration of the relational and psychological stressors
associated with Facebook use and affordances. Comput Human Behav 2015; 45: pp. 168-176.
8. Hinduja S., Patchin J.W.: Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide. Arch Suicide Res 2010; 14: pp. 206-221.
Crossing boundries: physician - patient relationship

Setting patient boundaries in social media use in plastic surgery

Chevonne Brady, Ryan Faderani, Esther Hansen, Yazan Al Ajam and Dariush Nikkhah
Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 2023-01-01, Volume 76, Pages 49-50, British Association of
Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons

..Surgeons can be contacted directly by patients, potential patients and anyone else with
access to a social media account. Whilst these messages are often helpful in building an initial
rapport with patents, it may also involve a degree of disclosure on the patient's part, therefore
crossing into the domain of confidentiality. There is also the possibility of patients
sending defamatory messages or contact that is not what you might expect from a
doctor-patient relationship. [4] Additionally, social media accounts may not be managed by the
surgeon themselves, which may not be immediately clear to the patient, creating some
confusion around who they are conversing with.

4. GMC: Good Medical Practice.2013.General Medical CouncilLondon