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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]
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“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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“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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Clercq, E. D., Rost, M., Gumy‐Pause, F., Diesch, T., Espeli, V. G., & Elger, B. S. (2020) · Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology · doi:10.1089/jayao.2019.0168 · Cited by 29
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Rhidenour, K. B., Blackburn, K. G., Barrett, A. K., & Taylor, S. (2021) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2021.1886411 · Cited by 27
“Research shows that people with diseases not only engage in SNS to gain information about their condition, but to talk about how their illness is viewed in the medical field (Smailhodzic et al., 2016).”
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“Studies indicate that patients who used social media reported improved self-management and control over decisions through a feeling of a more equal relationship with providers.(6,12) Research has also suggested that misinformation travels quickly and could lead to negative effects on patient health, as information pos…”
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“Health influencers on social media are playing an increasingly important role in their followers’ health outcomes and well-being by providing information and reducing uncertainty and anxiety (Smailhodzic et al., 2016).”
BackgroundAnastasio, A. T., Tabarestani, T. Q., Bagheri, K., Bethell, M. A., Prado, I. P., Taylor, J. R., & Adams, S. B. (2023) · Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics · doi:10.1177/24730114231171117 · Cited by 28
Social media hospital ratings and HCAHPS survey scores
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“Women negotiate their entitlement to care [52] and use social media to supplement information provided by HCPs [53-55].”
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“For example, in a recent systematic review, Smailhodzic et al [42] found that social media use fostered equal communication between patients and health care professionals and empowered patients through improved disease management and control.”
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Is social media the way to empower patients to share their experiences of dental care?
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“However, negative reactions from health care professionals toward patients’ social media activity might negatively affect patient-physician symmetries [9]; this underlines the need for health care professionals to engage on social media platforms to facilitate a positive physician-patient dynamic.”
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“In this sense, patients use social networks based on different motivations which can be summarized in the following categories: emotional, information, esteem, network support, social comparison and emotional expression [9].”
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“Social media is increasingly used to access health information, especially among young adult minority women, to complement in-person medical care (Smailhodzic et al., 2016).”
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“With a range of advantages, such as disseminating health information quickly and allowing health organizations to interact with target audiences, many countries have started to use social media for health promotion (Smailhodzic et al., 2016).”
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“Healthcare service providers and medical facilities are often present on the Internet and social media [36].”
BackgroundA Bibliometric Review of Constituents, Themes, and Trends in Online Medical Consultation Research
Lu, W., Ngai, C. S. B., & Yi, L. (2022) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2022.2163108 · Cited by 23
“Likewise, patients are empowered to change doctors if needed (Smailhodzic et al., 2016).”
BackgroundNi, Z., Zhu, L., Li, S., Zhang, Y., & Zhao, R. (2024) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-024-17758-w · Cited by 23
“Because this period witnessed revolutionary advancements in ICTs including mobile devices and social media developments [24, 25], and there is evidence that the majority of studies on the use of social media in healthcare were published after 2010 [26, 27].”
BackgroundJiang, S., & Liu, J. (2020) · Chinese Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/17544750.2020.1769700 · Cited by 21
Wu, Q. J., & Jiang, S. (2023) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730.2023.2208537 · Cited by 20
Pearson, C., Swindale, R., Keighley, P., McKinlay, A. R., & Ridsdale, L. (2019) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/10479 · Cited by 20
“For some, use of social media for health care purposes may represent an unfulfilled need with their existing care and support networks [35].”
LaBarge, G., & Broom, M. (2019) · PubMed Central · Cited by 20
Health-Related Quality of Life Among Healthcare Providers in Pakistan
Iqbal, M. S. (2020) · Journal of Pharmacy And Bioallied Sciences · doi:10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_265_20 · Cited by 20
“To manage numerous diseases and address healthcare problems, HPs need to be extremely competent, trustworthy, highly educated, who have access to the latest healthcare facilities, and most importantly, they should build a consistent and esteem relationship with their patients.[41] In Pakistan, due to several reasons,…”
BackgroundWisk, L. E., Magane, K. M., Nelson, E. B., Tsevat, R. K., Levy, S., & Weitzman, E. R. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/26418 · Cited by 20
Evolving Role of Social Media in Health Promotion
Roy, R., & Malloy, J. A. (2023) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.111967 · Cited by 20
Exploring how members of the public access and use health research and information: a scoping review
Heaton‐Shrestha, C., Hanson, K., Quirke‐McFarlane, S., Delaney, N., Vandrevala, T., & Bearne, L. (2023) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-023-16918-8 · Cited by 22
Public social media consultations for dermatologic conditions: an online survey
Schoenberg, E., Shalabi, D., Wang, J. V., Saedi, N., & Keller, M. S. (2020) · Dermatology Online Journal · doi:10.5070/d3263047975 · Cited by 20
“Social media may offer patient benefits, including social, emotional, and informational support [4].”
BackgroundThe Reel Health Care Professionals of Instagram: A Systematic Review
Amon, K. L., Brunner, M., & Campbell, A. (2024) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2023.0311 · Cited by 20
“21 Although there are some reviews evaluating the use of SNSs for health, 22,23 no systematic reviews have focused on Instagram use by health care professionals.”
The role of social media on COVID-19 preventive behaviors worldwide, systematic review
Fenta, E. T., Bogale, E. K., & Anagaw, T. F. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0306284 · Cited by 19
de Moel‐Mandel, C., Donnelly, A., & Bugden, M. (2025) · Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health · doi:10.1111/psrh.70025 · Cited by 19
Topic Modeling and User Network Analysis on Twitter during World Lupus Awareness Day
Pirri, S., Lorenzoni, V., Andreozzi, G., Mosca, M., & Turchetti, G. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17155440 · Cited by 19
“A recent literature review [20] that explored the effects of social media interaction on patient and healthcare professional relationships pointed out how patients mainly use social media for social support, which is represented through information support, emotional support, esteem support, and network support.”
BackgroundThe effect of Instagram posts related to #Wisdomteeth on patients
Güler, A. Y. (2021) · Journal of Stomatology Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.jormas.2021.05.007 · Cited by 19
Analysis of Informative Content on Cerebral Palsy Presented in Brazilian-Portuguese YouTube Videos
Furtado, M. A. D. S., de Sousa, R. R., Soares, L. A., Soares, B. A., de Mendonça, K. T., Rosenbaum, P., Oliveira, V. C., Camargos, A. C. R., & Leite, H. R. (2022) · Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics · doi:10.1080/01942638.2022.2046677 · Cited by 19
“About 95% of Brazilian internet users watch YouTube videos (ELife.com.br, n.d.), where a variety of content is exposed about health conditions such as CP (Canty et al., 2019; Smailhodzic et al., 2016).”
BackgroundCarnevale, L., Celesti, A., Fiumara, G., Galletta, A., & Villari, M. (2020) · Applied Soft Computing · doi:10.1016/j.asoc.2020.106155 · Cited by 19
Zanoni, B. C., Archary, M., Sibaya, T., Goldstein, M. H., Bergam, S. J., Denton, D., Cordero, V., Peng, C., Psaros, C., Marconi, V. C., et al. (2021) · JMIR Research Protocols · doi:10.2196/35455 · Cited by 18
“The use of social media and access to mobile phones among adolescents in South Africa is growing rapidly and offers an excellent opportunity to deliver a social support intervention [18].”
InfluentialTrending Tubes: A Social Media Analysis of Tympanostomy Tubes in Children
Rossi, N. A. A., French, K., Evans, C. L., Ohlstein, J. F., Neve, L. D., Daram, S. P., Young, D. L., McKinnon, B. J., & Pine, H. S. (2022) · OTO Open · doi:10.1177/2473974x221086964 · Cited by 19
Stimpson, J. P., Park, S., Wilson, F. A., & Ortega, A. N. (2024) · JMIR Public Health and Surveillance · doi:10.2196/56881 · Cited by 18
“…media plays in the support networks for individuals with specific health issues, perhaps mitigating or exacerbating the adverse impacts of mis-and disinformation through peer-supplied information and emotional support, which could interact with trust and past experiences of discrimination [55].”
Media Use by Older Adults With Hearing Loss: An Exploratory Survey
Manchaiah, V. K. C., Bellon-Harn, M. L., Kelly-Campbell, R. J., Beukes, E. W., Bailey, A., & Pyykkö, I. V. (2020) · American Journal of Audiology · doi:10.1044/2020_aja-19-00039 · Cited by 18
Risks and Benefits of Using Social Media in Dermatology: Cross-sectional Questionnaire Study
Bressler, M. Y., Grudnikoff, E., Bressler, Y., Tamez, R., & Zampella, J. G. (2021) · JMIR Dermatology · doi:10.2196/24737 · Cited by 18
“Studies point to improved patient well-being and empowerment through the use of social media, especially among those with new medical diagnoses [3].”
BackgroundSamtani, R. G., Webb, A. J., Burleson, J. R., Berven, S., Theologis, A. A., Abotsi, E. J., Burch, S., Deviren, V., & Haddas, R. (2021) · Global Spine Journal · doi:10.1177/21925682211035716 · Cited by 18
“The use of social media by providers can enhance patient education,(3) complement offline information, allows patients to receive support, stimulate brand building, and strengthen the organization’s market position.(4) Healthcare professionals can use social media to improve health outcomes by empowering patients, all…”
BackgroundPsihogios, A. M., Ahmed, A. M., McKelvey, E. R., Toto, D. R., Avila, I., Hekimian-Brogan, E., Steward, Z., Schwartz, L. A., & Barakat, L. P. (2022) · Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1037/cpp0000459 · Cited by 22
The emotional side of taking part in a cancer clinical trial
Chichua, M., Filipponi, C., Mazzoni, D., & Pravettoni, G. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0284268 · Cited by 18
Sheridan, G. A., O’Brien, C., Masri, B. A., Duncan, C. P., & Garbuz, D. S. (2020) · World Journal of Orthopedics · doi:10.5312/wjo.v11.i2.82 · Cited by 18
Leveraging social media for medical education: Learning from patients in online spaces
Giroux, C. M., & Moreau, K. A. (2020) · Medical Teacher · doi:10.1080/0142159x.2020.1779920 · Cited by 18
Conte, F., Vitale, P., Vollero, A., & Siano, A. (2018) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su10124447 · Cited by 19
“In fact, informing the public of how healthcare organizations approach sustainability increases positive perspectives of their role in society, especially if social media (such as Facebook) are used to highlight their scientific contribution to the well-being of society [9].”
BackgroundPandit, V., Schmitt, M., Cummins, N., & Schuller, B. W. (2020) · Information Processing & Management · doi:10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102347 · Cited by 19
Association of Dental Caries with Use of Internet and Social Media among 12 and 15-Year-Olds
Almoddahi, D., Machuca Vargas, C., & Sabbah, W. (2022) · Acta Odontologica Scandinavica · doi:10.1080/00016357.2021.1951349 · Cited by 17
“People use social media for health-related reasons mainly as a complement to professional healthcare and seeking for social support to fulfil unmet needs by health services [29].”
BackgroundHiatt, J. S., Brown, T. E., Banks, M., Lewis, C., & Bauer, J. D. (2020) · Supportive Care in Cancer · doi:10.1007/s00520-020-05576-w · Cited by 17
“Internet use can provide psychosocial support to patients and carers, serving as an aid to foster autonomy and complement information from healthcare professionals [27, 52].”
BackgroundMiller, T., Maurer, S. H., & Felker, J. T. (2022) · Cancer Medicine · doi:10.1002/cam4.4693 · Cited by 17
Analysis of Tweets Containing Information Related to Rheumatological Diseases on Twitter
Abbasi-Perez, A., Álvarez-Mon, M. Á., Donat‐Vargas, C., Ortega, M. A., Monserrat, J., Pérez-Gómez, A., Sanz, I., & Álvarez‐Mon, M. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18179094 · Cited by 16
“Currently, the distribution and access to the information in general and to that related to health and disease in particular has been transformed by the increase use of internet and the popularity of social media [34].”
BackgroundYang, W., Wang, S., Peng, Z., Shi, C., Ma, X., & Yang, D. (2022) · Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media · doi:10.1609/icwsm.v16i1.19366 · Cited by 17
“Health-related misinformation and rumors circulating on social media pose a substantial threat to the public (Smailhodzic et al. 2016), influencing people’s medical decisions and even threatening their lives (Wang et al. 2019).”
BackgroundSun, Q., Tang, G., Xu, W., & Zhang, S. (2024) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1459536 · Cited by 17
“Research indicates that such social media behavior can enhance patients’ self-management and control (3), contribute to preventive behaviors (5), and support health behavior change interventions (6).”
BackgroundGiuffrida, A., Saia-Owenby, C., Andriano, C., Beall, D. P., Bailey-Classen, A., Buchanan, P. J., Budwany, R. R., Desai, M. J., Comer, A., Dudas, A., et al. (2024) · Journal of Pain Research · doi:10.2147/jpr.s488590 · Cited by 19
“10,11 However, inappropriate messages from peers or practitioners on social media can lead to the acceptance of misinformation, increase shame and stigma, and create cognitive overload, which in turn may discourage individuals from seeking care.”
BackgroundMapping the terrain of social media misinformation: A scientometric exploration of global research
Wang, J., Zhai, Y., & Shahzad, F. (2025) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104691 · Cited by 21
Wallace, C. M., McCosker, A., Farmer, J., & White, C. (2021) · Journal of Applied Communication Research · doi:10.1080/00909882.2021.1934513 · Cited by 16
“Emphasis has been placed on the equalizing potential of social media as more informal and more personalized modes of health communication (Smailhodzic et al., 2016).”
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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