Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34874534›Full record

ArticlePharmaceutical medicine2021

To Tweet or Not to Tweet: A Longitudinal Analysis of Social Media Use by Global Diabetes Researchers.

Simon Leigh, Max E Noble, Frances E Pearson, James Iremonger, David T Williams

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pharmaceutical medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Simon LeighVISFO, Mill Royd St., HD6 1EY, Brighouse, UK. simon@visfo.health.ORCID 0000-0002-6843-6447
Max E NobleVISFO, Mill Royd St., HD6 1EY, Brighouse, UK.
Frances E PearsonVISFO, Mill Royd St., HD6 1EY, Brighouse, UK.
James IremongerVISFO, Mill Royd St., HD6 1EY, Brighouse, UK.
David T WilliamsVISFO, Mill Royd St., HD6 1EY, Brighouse, UK.
Visa (United Kingdom) · GBVisteon (South Korea) · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEngaging influential stakeholders in meaningful exchange is essential for pharmaceutical companies aiming to improve care. At a time where opportunities for face-to-face engagement are limited, the ability to interact, learn and generate actionable insights through digital channels such as Twitter, is of considerable value.

aimThe aim of this study was to evaluate digital engagement among global diabetes mellitus researchers. MATERIALS AND

methodsWe identified every global tweet (20,614,515) and scientific publication (44,135) regarding diabetes mellitus from 1 August 2018 to 1 August 2020. Through author matching we combined datasets, resulting in a list of digitally active scientific authors. Generalised linear modelling identified factors predicting their digital engagement.

findingsGlobally, 2686 diabetes researchers used Twitter to discuss the management of diabetes mellitus, posting 110,346 diabetes-related tweets. As Twitter followers increased, so did tweet frequency (p < 0.001), retweets (p < 0.001) and replies (p < 0.001) to their content. Publication count (overall/per month) and proportion of first/last authorships were unrelated to tweet frequency and the likelihood of being retweeted or replied to (p > 0.05). Those with the most  academic co-authors were significantly less likely to tweet than those with smaller networks (< 50; p = 0.001). Finally, those publishing most frequently on specific themes, including insulin (p = 0.041) and paediatrics (p < 0.001), were significantly more likely to tweet about these themes.

conclusionAcademic expertise and seniority cannot be assumed as proxies for digital influence. Those aiming to promote science and obtain digital insights regarding condition management should consider looking beyond well-known 'key opinion leaders' to perhaps lesser known 'digital opinion leaders' with smaller academic networks, who are likely to specialise in the delivery of highly specific content to captive audiences.

Indexed as

Diabetes MellitusSocial MediaChildHumans

Identifiers

PMID34874534
PMCPMC8650740
OpenAlexW4200353152

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.