Making connections and promoting the profession: Social media use by World Federation of Occupational Therapists member organisations

Anita L Hamilton; Susan C Burwash; Merrolee Penman; Karen Jacobs; Angela Hook; Sarah Bodell; Ritchard Ledgerd; Marilyn Pattison

doi:10.1177/2055207616653844

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Making connections and promoting the profession: Social media use by World Federation of Occupational Therapists member organisations

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Making connections and promoting the profession: Social media use by World Federation of Occupational Therapists member organisations

Anita L Hamilton, Susan C Burwash, Merrolee Penman, Karen Jacobs, Angela Hook, Sarah Bodell, Ritchard Ledgerd and Marilyn Pattison

Digital Health, Vol.2, pp.1-15

2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207616653844

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Abstract

Clinical Sciences

World Federation of Occupational Therapists

professional organisations

social media

networking

promotion

members

survey

Background: World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) member organisations comprise 77 national occupational therapy organisations across the world. Each national organisation interacts with its members and the public using diverse methods. Increasingly, national organisations are broadening their communication methods. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine if and how occupational therapy organisations are using social media for communication, and if so, the types of concerns or barriers they experience and what role they anticipate social media might play in the near future. Methods: An online survey was developed; 57 of 77 WFOT member organisations responded. Findings: This study identified that WFOT national organisations are using social media, to varying degrees, with or without an individual formally assigned to manage social media. Respondents reported that they used social media to: communicate with members, promote the organisation and promote the profession. Commonly expressed needs included assistance with guidelines for ethical social media use, developing technical expertise, and recognition of limits of time and competing priorities.Recommendations arising from this research are at the global, national, local and individual levels and incorporate active dissemination and pure diffusion approaches. Taking steps to increase the use of social media could indirectly impact occupational therapy practice through enhancing organisations' abilities to support practitioners to enhance their practice. Limitations and recommendations for further research: Although 57% of WFOT member organisations returned usable responses, there may be some additional perspectives that were not captured. It would be helpful to contact non-responding organisations to explore their social media use and plans. Further research could examine how future initiatives put in place by WFOT impact social media use by member organisations.

Details

Title: Making connections and promoting the profession: Social media use by World Federation of Occupational Therapists member organisations
Authors: Anita L Hamilton (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Susan C Burwash (Author) - Eastern Washington University, United States
Merrolee Penman (Author) - University of Sydney
Karen Jacobs (Author) - Boston University, United States
Angela Hook (Author) - University of Salford, United Kingdom
Sarah Bodell (Author) - University of Salford, United Kingdom
Ritchard Ledgerd (Author) - World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Australia
Marilyn Pattison (Author) - World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Australia
Publication details: Digital Health, Vol.2, pp.1-15
Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd.
Date published: 2016
DOI: 10.1177/2055207616653844
ISSN: 2055-2076
Copyright note: Copyright © 2016 The Author. Creative Commons CC-BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health and Sport Sciences - Legacy; School of Health - Occupational Therapy; Engage Research Lab; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449702102621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Health Care Sciences & Services; Health Policy & Services; Medical Informatics; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health

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