The Effect of Social Media on Treatment Awareness in Health Care: Chiropractic

INTRODUCTION: With the rise of social media platforms, people have increasingly turned to the Internet to learn about disease causes, treatments, and alternative therapies. The aim of this study was to examine how clinicians and clinics can effectively utilize social media applications with proper planning. In addition, it aims to identify the influence of advertising on people’s social media use and clinical choices. Finally, the rates at which patients share their clinical experiences online were investigated.
METHODS: In this study, the survey method, one of the quantitative research models, was used and the participants were determined by purposive sampling method. The sample size of the study consists of 300 people who know chiropractic. A questionnaire form consisting of 21 questions was used as a data collection tool and the data were collected online with Google Forms. The statistical significance value was set at p<0.05 in the study
RESULTS: The study found significant differences between the responses to the question “Where did you hear about chiropractic?” and various factors. 82.1% of those who heard about chiropractic from health professionals received chiropractic treatment, compared to 62.8% of those who heard about it from social media (p<0.001). 84.8% of those who heard about it from health professionals thought chiropractic treatment would be relieving, whereas 68.6% of those who heard about it from social media shared this belief (p=0.004). In addition, 88.4% of those who heard about it from health professionals were not afraid of chiropractic, compared to 67.2% of those who heard about it from social media (p<0.001). There was also a significant difference in chiropractic treatment rates between genders, with 74.1% of men and 63.8% of women having received treatment (p=0.042).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the participants’ opinions about chiropractic treatment were positive. A significant portion of the participants, especially those who learned about chiropractic from health professionals, showed a high level of interest in seeking and undergoing chiropractic treatment. In addition, most participants believed that chiropractic care would be effective and was not afraid of the treatment, indicating a generally favorable perception of chiropractic methods.