ArticleSaudi medical journal2019
Health information on social media. Perceptions, attitudes, and practices of patients and their companions.
Article in Saudi medical journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 121 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mapping the effectiveness of digital health interventions in promoting electronic cigarette cessation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Social Media as a Tool for Health Promotion and Disease Management in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingPooled it
- Assessing Quality, Readability, and Transparency of Online and AI-Generated Information on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Cross-Sectional Exploratory Study.JMIR diabetes · 2026Article
- Public knowledge of plantar fasciitis and its determinants in Saudi Arabia: A national cross-sectional study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2026Article
- Social media use for general and oral health information-seeking: a qualitative study in Saudi Arabia.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Measuring Digital Oral Health Literacy in the Social Media Era: Psychometric Validation of the Romanian Version of the Social Media Oral Health Literacy Questionnaire (SMOHLQ).Dentistry journal · 2026Article
- An Assessment of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4.0 Responses to Scoliosis FAQs.Journal of personalized medicine · 2026Article
- Public views, patterns, and impacts of social networking site use for medicine-related information in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- Preferred Social Media Platform for Rehabilitation Education Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.Cureus · 2026Article
- The Siren's call: How social media influencers are using identity leadership to shape diagnostic label identification and self-care intentions.The British journal of social psychology · 2026Article
- Family planning under sociocultural influence: evaluating knowledge, access, and utilization in Al Baha, Saudi Arabia.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026Article
- Digital health information-seeking behaviors and trust in AI-based physician chatbots among patients with hypertension: a cross-sectional survey in Saudi Arabia.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Use of health information from social media and health self-efficacy: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Assessing AI-Based Large Language Models (ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and DeepSeek) for Common Parent Questions about Autism: Acceptability, Readability, and Accuracy.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2025Article
- Association Between Social Media Use and Patients' Choice of Medical Practitioners Among the General Population in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Investigating the Association of Subjective Numeracy, Interpersonal Communication, and Perceived Discrimination With Watching Health-Related Videos on Social Media Platforms: Cross-Sectional Analysis.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Analysis of Reddit Reveals Clascoterone Questions Among People with Acne.The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology · 2025Article
- ASO Author Reflections: How TikTok Views Oncoplastic Breast Surgery.Annals of surgical oncology · 2025Article
- Is This the Right Link? How TikTok Views Oncoplastic Breast Surgery.Annals of surgical oncology · 2025Article
- Accuracy of Nutrition-Related Awareness Messages on Twitter (Rebranded as X) by the Nutrition Awareness Providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Validity Content Analysis.Online journal of public health informatics · 2025Article
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo assess social media and search engines used to find health information in Saudi patients and their companions and to describe their perceptions, attitudes, and practices. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 374 patients and their companions at a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The data were collected between January and March 2018 using a self-administrated questionnaire adopted from the literature and developed in Arabic. The questionnaire was validated and modified by the researchers to fulfill the purpose of this study. The questionnaire contains 4 sections (25 questions), divided into a demographic section and the 3 sections assessing perceptions, attitudes, and practices. Results: Eighty-five percent sought health information using social media; of whom 293 (78.3%) used WhatsApp, 237 (63.4%) used YouTube, and 46 (12.3%) used Facebook. Furthermore, 72% searched information for themselves and 52% for a family member. Approximately 28% of participants had used social media for medical consultations. The reliability of health information on social media was met for 51% of participants, and 81.4% claimed that the health information obtained was knowledgeable. However, only 29% share their personal health experience with the public on social media. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the majority of the participants used social media platforms to find information related to their health conditions, while approximately one third received direct medical consultations online. Public awareness to use reputable sources for health information is needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.