ArticleFrontiers in sociology2026
The role of social media in enhancing health awareness, social support and educational progress among university students in Oman during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.
Article in Frontiers in sociology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study examined the role of social media in promoting health awareness, strengthening social support, and maintaining educational continuity among university students during the early stage of the COVID-19 lockdown in Oman. It also explored the major challenges associated with social media use during this unprecedented public health emergency. A descriptive-analytical design was employed using an online survey administered to 380 undergraduate students at Sultan Qaboos University during the suspension of face-to-face teaching in April and May 2020. The findings indicate that social media played an important role in enhancing students' awareness of COVID-19-related health issues, with a high overall awareness score (M = 40.92, SD = 5.47; relative strength = 85%). Students also reported substantial social benefits (M = 50.15, SD = 8.19; relative strength = 84%), particularly in strengthening social responsibility, maintaining communication with family and friends, and reducing the effects of social isolation. In addition, social media contributed positively to educational continuity during the lockdown (M = 30.80, SD = 7.89), especially by facilitating access to learning materials, communication with instructors, and the submission of assignments. Despite these benefits, students identified several important challenges (M = 34.02, SD = 5.67; relative strength = 77%), including the spread of misinformation and rumors, unreliable online content, high internet costs, and technical and connectivity problems. The findings highlight the value of social media as a complementary tool for health communication, social connectedness, and educational continuity during public health emergencies. They also provide insights that may inform digital communication strategies in higher education and public health campaigns. Although the study did not specifically investigate social work students or practitioners, the findings may also inform the development of digital competencies and electronic social work education for crisis preparedness. Further research should examine the role of social workers and social work education in emergencies and disaster contexts.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.