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Social media use in healthcare: A systematic review of effects on patients and on their relationship with healthcare professionals
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Since the emergence of social media in 2004, a growing percentage of patients use this technology for health related reasons. To reflect on the alleged beneficial and potentially harmful effects of social media use by patients, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the extant literature on the effects of social media use for health related reasons on patients and their relationship with healthcare professionals. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review on empirical research regarding the effects of social media use by patients for health related reasons. The papers we included met the following selection criteria: (1) published in a peer-reviewed journal, (2) written in English, (3) full text available to the researcher, (4) contain primary empirical data, (5) the users of social media are patients, (6) the effects of patients using social media are clearly stated, (7) satisfy established quality criteria. RESULTS: Initially, a total of 1,743 articles were identified from which 22 were included in the study. From these articles six categories of patients' use of social media were identified, namely: emotional, information, esteem, network support, social comparison and emotional expression. The types of use were found to lead to seven identified types of effects on patients, namely improved self-management and control, enhanced psychological well-being, and enhanced subjective well-being, diminished subjective well-being, addiction to social media, loss of privacy, and being targeted for promotion. Social media use by patients was found to affect the healthcare professional and patient relationship, by leading to more equal communication between the patient and healthcare professional, increased switching of doctors, harmonious relationships, and suboptimal interaction between the patient and healthcare professional. CONCLUSIONS: Our review provides insights into the emerging utilization of social media in healthcare. In particular, it identifies types of use by patients as well as the effects of such use, which may differ between patients and doctors. Accordingly, our results framework and propositions can serve to guide future research, and they also have practical implications for healthcare providers and policy makers.
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“Health promotion on social media also encouraged patients to seek medical attention more willingly [11].”
From Social Media Use Among Parents and Caregivers of Children With Rare Genetic Diseases: Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Most patients discuss information they have found online with their health care provider”
From Social Media Use Among Parents and Caregivers of Children With Rare Genetic Diseases: Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“however, physicians often react negatively to discussions involving information sourced from social media [11-13].”
From Social Media Use Among Parents and Caregivers of Children With Rare Genetic Diseases: Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Prior literature has highlighted both benefits and risks of social media in healthcare,4–13 but there remains limited understanding of how generational perspectives shape views of professionalism in healthcare social media use.”
From Evaluating perceptions of social media professionalism by healthcare workers (2026) · cites this paper as [5]
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“Social media use is also related to shorter relationships with health care providers, as online discussions prompted patients to seek specific providers [11].”
From Social Media Use Among Parents and Caregivers of Children With Rare Genetic Diseases: Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“social media empowers patients to be more informed and involved in their own care”
From Social Media Use Among Parents and Caregivers of Children With Rare Genetic Diseases: Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
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“allowing for improved communication with medical professionals [11,12].”
From Social Media Use Among Parents and Caregivers of Children With Rare Genetic Diseases: Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
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In the citing paper
“popularity of SM has also been embraced by health care professionals (HCPs) [5].”
From Dangers and Benefits of Social Media on E-Professionalism of Health Care Professionals: Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [5]
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“In the medical field, social media has been used to improve communication between nurses and patients (Mariano et al., 2018), promote Chinese urologists’ practices (Long et al., 2017), and provide online consultations for patients (Smailhodzic et al., 2016).”
BackgroundArtificial Intelligence–Enabled Analysis of Statin-Related Topics and Sentiments on Social Media
Somani, S. S., van Buchem, M. M., Sarraju, A., Hernandez‐Boussard, T., & Rodríguez, F. (2023) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.9747 · Cited by 45
Wu, T., Deng, Z., Feng, Z., Gaskin, D. J., Zhang, D. “., & Wang, R. (2018) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.9003 · Cited by 39
“Hence, the new communication approach, behaviors, and content affect the relationship between consumers and health professionals, which may influence consumers’health outcomes and well-being [9].”
BackgroundSocial Media Engagement and the Critical Care Medicine Community
Barnes, S. S., Kaul, V., & Kudchadkar, S. R. (2018) · Journal of Intensive Care Medicine · doi:10.1177/0885066618769599 · Cited by 40
Social Media, Quo Vadis? Prospective Development and Implications
Studen, L., & Tiberius, V. (2020) · Future Internet · doi:10.3390/fi12090146 · Cited by 43
“Social support and exchange among patients already plays a crucial role [89,90].”
BackgroundGarcia, M. B., Pilueta, N. U., & Jardiniano, M. F. (2019) · IEEE International Conference on Humanoid, Nanotechnology, Information Technology, Communication and Control, Environment, and Management (HNICEM) · doi:10.1109/hnicem48295.2019.9072724 · Cited by 40
“According to a systematic review [9], there is also an emerging utilization of social media in healthcare where doctors and patients alike are using such platforms for patient empowerment (patient-patient) and to a more equal communication (doctor-patient), to name a few.”
BackgroundRacial/Ethnic Disparities in Patient-Provider Communication and the Role of E-Health Use
Kim, H. S., Kim, H. J., & Juon, H. (2021) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730.2021.1919248 · Cited by 39
Walsh, L., Hyett, N., Juniper, N., Li, C., Rodier, S., & Hill, S. (2021) · Digital Health · doi:10.1177/2055207621996870 · Cited by 39
Preparing medical students for the e-patient
Masters, K. (2017) · Medical Teacher · doi:10.1080/0142159x.2017.1324142 · Cited by 37
“Skype), checking their doctors' digital footprints, rating their doctors, sharing their medical data with third parties, and (where possible) accessing their Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) (Murray et al. 2003; Robinson et al. 2004; Wicks et al. 2010; deBronkart 2011; Greene et al. 2011; Shrank et al. 2011; Law 2012…”
BackgroundTowne, J., Suliman, Y., Russell, K. A., Stuparich, M. A., Nahas, S., & Behbehani, S. (2021) · Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology · doi:10.1016/j.jmig.2021.02.005 · Cited by 39
Validity of Material Related to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament on TikTok
D’Ambrosi, R., & Hewett, T. E. (2024) · Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1177/23259671241228543 · Cited by 37
“16,21,23 A considerable impact has been made by the billions of posts, tweets, and video uploads that have come from this transformation in online data interchange on the majority, if not all, areas of human endeavor, including scientific education.”
BackgroundConsumer perceptions of using social media for health purposes: Benefits and drawbacks
Benetoli, A., Chen, T. F., & Aslani, P. (2018) · Health Informatics Journal · doi:10.1177/1460458218796664 · Cited by 37
What Are Diabetes Patients Versus Health Care Personnel Discussing on Social Media?
Årsand, E., Bradway, M., & Gabarrón, E. (2019) · Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology · doi:10.1177/1932296818821649 · Cited by 37
Döbrössy, B. M., Girasek, E., Susánszky, A., Koncz, Z., Győrffy, Z., & Bognár, V. K. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0231422 · Cited by 36
“[18] Increasing screening attendance is not only important on the level of the individual, but also on the system level as well.”
BackgroundThe Rise of the Expert Patient in Cancer: From Backseat Passenger to Co-navigator
Guzman, A. A., Freeman‐Daily, J., Fisch, M. J., Lou, E., Pennell, N. A., Painter, C., Sparacio, D., Lewis, M. A., Karmo, M., Anderson, P. F., et al. (2022) · JCO Oncology Practice · doi:10.1200/op.21.00763 · Cited by 36
Utengen, A., Rouholiman, D., Gamble, J. G., Grajales, F. J., III, Pradhan, N., Staley, A. C., Bernstein, L., Young, S. D., Clauson, K. A., & Chu, L. F. (2017) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.8049 · Cited by 35
“In a systematic review of the literature, Smailhodzic et al [16] identified studies that examined patient and provider use of social media and identified six uses of social media for health-related purposes: emotional support, esteem support, information support, network support, emotional expression, and social compa…”
BackgroundFacebook Facts: Breast Reconstruction Patient-Reported Outcomes Using Social Media
Tang, S. Y. Q., Israel, J. S., Poore, S. O., & Afifi, A. M. (2018) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/prs.0000000000004275 · Cited by 35
Al-Dmour, H. H., Masa’deh, R. M. T., Salman, A. Z., Al-Dmour, R., & Abuhashesh, M. (2022) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/21582440221082125 · Cited by 38
“The questionnaire’s content was developed based on prior studies ( Al-Dmour, et al., 2020; Giustini et al., 2018; Laranjo, 2016; Laverack, 2017; Misra et al., 2018; Sharma & Yaday, 2017; Smailhodzic et al., 2016; Villar & Marsh, 2018) using—5-point Likert scale ranging from not important at all = 1 to very important =…”
MethodChow, E. P. F., Samra, R. S., Bradshaw, C. S., Chen, M. Y., Williamson, D. A., Towns, J. M., Maddaford, K., Mercury, F., & Fairley, C. K. (2023) · Sexual Health · doi:10.1071/sh23075 · Cited by 34
Fontaine, G., Maheu‐Cadotte, M., Lavallée, A., Mailhot, T., Rouleau, G., Bouix‐Picasso, J., & Bourbonnais, A. (2019) · JMIR Public Health and Surveillance · doi:10.2196/14447 · Cited by 38
“This is surprising considering that several reviews underline ethical issues surrounding the use of digital technology by health care professionals, such as boundary issues and potential conflicts of interests [4,43,44].”
Canty, M., Breitbart, S. C., Siegel, L., Fehlings, D. L., Milo‐Manson, G., Alotaibi, N. M., & Ibrahim, G. M. (2019) · Child s Nervous System · doi:10.1007/s00381-019-04197-x · Cited by 33
Using AI–ML to Augment the Capabilities of Social Media for Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring
Leung, R. (2023) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare11121704 · Cited by 39
“Additionally, doctors can use social media to promote their services and connect with potential patients [9].”
BackgroundRamamoorthy, T., Kulothungan, V., & Mappillairaju, B. (2024) · Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.3389/frai.2024.1329185 · Cited by 32
The shadows know me: Exploring the dark side of social media in the healthcare field
Smaldone, F., Ippolito, A., & Ruberto, M. (2019) · European Management Journal · doi:10.1016/j.emj.2019.12.001 · Cited by 34
Bachmann, P. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17124412 · Cited by 33
“The use and effectiveness of social media to support population of caregivers of persons with AD has been mentioned relatively frequently in the literature [47,49,50].”
BackgroundCOVID-19 and Vitamin D Misinformation on YouTube: Content Analysis
Quinn, E. K., Fenton, S., Ford-Sahibzada, C. A., Harper, A. S., Marcon, A. R., Caulfield, T., Fazel, S. S., & Peters, C. (2022) · JMIR Infodemiology · doi:10.2196/32452 · Cited by 32
“Evidence suggests that people use social media to access health information because it can supplement information provided by their health care providers and provide social supports [17].”
BackgroundSocial Media, Digital Health Literacy, and Digital Ethics in the Light of Health Equity
Rivera-Romero, O., Gabarrón, E., Miron‐Shatz, T., Petersen, C. C., & Denecke, K. (2022) · Yearbook of Medical Informatics · doi:10.1055/s-0042-1742503 · Cited by 35
“Since its emergence in 2004, social media is used by a growing percentage of individuals for health-related reasons [1].”
BackgroundPerception of social media behaviour among medical students, residents and medical specialists
Pronk, S. A., Gorter, S. L., Van Luijk, S. J., Barnhoorn, P. C., Binkhorst, B., & Van Mook, W. N. K. A. V. M. (2021) · Perspectives on Medical Education · doi:10.1007/s40037-021-00660-1 · Cited by 31
“For example, social media by which patients receive correct information about their condition, thus stimulating a more equal communication between patients and their healthcare professionals, can be used to improve self-management of patients [13].”
BackgroundKarni, L., Dalal, K., Memedi, M., Kalra, D., & Klein, G. O. (2020) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/17459 · Cited by 31
“The social media revolution has led to online patient communities and networks with empowering effects on patients through the exchange of information and group representation [2].”
Benefits, Challenges, and Social Impact of Health Care Providers’ Adoption of Social Media
Khan, M. I., & Loh, J. M. I. (2021) · Social Science Computer Review · doi:10.1177/08944393211025758 · Cited by 37
“Previous studies have noted the enhancement brought to patients and doctors in terms of health promotion, social support, health education, lifestyle advice, community engagement, networking, knowledge sharing, improved trust, and self-confidence among health care professionals and their patients (Eschenbrenner & Nah,…”
BackgroundBlended human-technology service realities in healthcare
Dodds, S., Russell‐Bennett, R., Chen, T., Oertzen, A.-S., Salvador‐Carulla, L., & Hung, Y. Y. (2022) · Journal of Service Theory and Practice · doi:10.1108/jstp-12-2020-0285 · Cited by 31
Misinformation About Orthopaedic Conditions on Social Media: Analysis of TikTok and Instagram
Kolade, O. O., Martinez, R., Awe, A., Dubin, J. M., Mehran, N., Mulcahey, M. K., & Tabaie, S. A. (2023) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.49946 · Cited by 30
“With the popularity and ease of access to social media, many people use it as a method of acquiring medical information [7,13,14].”
BackgroundBalikuddembe, J. K., & Reinhardt, J. D. (2019) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.1093/ptj/pzz162 · Cited by 30
Limb Prostheses: Industry 1.0 to 4.0: Perspectives on Technological Advances in Prosthetic Care
Raschke, S. U. (2022) · Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences · doi:10.3389/fresc.2022.854404 · Cited by 30
Status Quo of Professional–Patient Relations in the Internet Era: Bibliometric and Co-Word Analyses
Wang, Z., Deng, Z., & Wu, X. L. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16071183 · Cited by 29
“After reading the abstracts of these review papers, we found that scholars in other geographical areas mainly focused on online health information seeking [37–41], social media use in healthcare [42], Internet-based interventions (IPIs) [43], online community [44,45], and e-health [46].”
BackgroundKjærulff, E. M., Andersen, T. H., Kingod, N., & Nexø, M. A. (2023) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/41156 · Cited by 29
“Although Smailhodzic et al [13] specifically investigated social media, other reviews have primarily focused on health information retrieved from websites.”
Influential
Metadata
- Authors
- Smailhodzic, E., Hooijsma, W., Boonstra, A., & Langley, D. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Groningen (NL)
- Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (NL)
- Venue
- BMC Health Services Research
- Published
- 2016-08-26
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 442-442
- ISSN
- 1472-6963 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5000484
- OpenAlex
- W2512433998
- Cited by
- 827
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 75 · 2025: 107 · 2024: 107 · 2023: 99 · 2022: 111 · 2021: 127 · 2020: 96 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 14
- FWCI
- 6.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- BMC Health Services Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (acceptedVersion)
- TNO Repository (submittedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Repository hosted by TU Delft Library (TU Delft) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- social media use, patient self-management, psychological well-being, subjective well-being, social media addiction, privacy loss, social comparison, network support, patient-physician communication
- MeSH terms
- Female, Health Personnel, Humans, Male, Professional-Patient Relations, Self Care, Consumer Health Information, Social Media
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