Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Dermatology
Date Submitted: Jul 14, 2021
Date Accepted: Jul 28, 2021
Date Submitted to PubMed: Aug 26, 2023
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Assessment and Evaluation of the Social Engagement of Dermatology Residency Programs on Instagram
ABSTRACT
Background:
Without traditional in-person experiences due to COVID-19, dermatology residency applicants and programs had to search for new ways to get to know one another. Thus, many programs created or enhanced their social media accounts, specifically Instagram, providing an avenue for applicants. The Instagram Engagement Score (IES) is a tool that quantifies an Instagram account’s engagement.
Objective:
We assessed the factors that influence a dermatology residency program Instagram account's total followers count and IES.
Methods:
Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education-accredited dermatology residency programs in the United States were identified and evaluated on 3/6/2021-3/7/2021. Posts were categorized into educational, departmental, academic and professional, social, or other posts.
Results:
78 residency programs have Instagram accounts. 69 accounts were active, or posting after November 2020. Other than posts, Instagram Stories was used most frequently (49%). 60 accounts opened in 2020. University of Miami had the most followers (N=2260) while University of Kansas had the highest IES (IES=23.76). Program location and affiliation did not affect total followers or IES. Utilizing Instagram TV (p=0.019) significantly increased total followers, but not IES. Using linear correlation, total posts and departmental posts correlated with increased total follower count (p<0.001, p=0.018 respectively) and IES (p<0.001, p=0.008 respectively).
Conclusions:
Instagram is a valuable platform for a dermatology residency program’s self-promotion and recruitment following COVID-19. We recommend dermatology residency programs to open an Instagram account and make more posts, especially departmental content.
Citation
