(48) Evaluating Pharmacy Faculties’ and Students’ Perceptions of Social Media Study Tools

Objective : The objective of this study is to evaluate the perceptions of faculty and students of colleges of pharmacy regarding pharmacy education with social media study tools. We hypothesized a greater number of students would find social media tools useful and perceive these tools to be valid for study when compared to faculty.

Methods: The participants in this study consisted of pharmacy faculty and students from a single institution. Data collection occurred in Spring 2023, and participants were invited to complete a structured questionnaire through an online survey platform. Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarize demographic characteristics and participants' responses to questionnaire items. An unpaired t-test was used to compare mean differences between faculty and student social media platforms used and use purposes for social media. The chi square statistic was used to explore associations between categorical variables.

Results: The greatest student response rate occurred among P3 and P4 students (74%), and most faculty respondents were PharmDs (85%). An association was found between students' awareness of social media tools and their perceived usefulness of social media (X2=11.8523, p=.000576). There was also a significant association found between user type (faculty or student) and perception that social media study tools are valid. The mean difference in social media use between faculty and students was found to be statistically significant (t=2.7684, p=.0151).

Conclusions: Students who are aware of social media study tools are more likely to view social media as a useful resource for their academic endeavors. Colleges of Pharmacy can leverage the benefits of social media for multiple reasons; however, everyone needs to be aware of intentional and unintentional dissemination of misinformation.