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115 - Evaluating Social Media Engagement in PM&R Residency Programs: A Quantitative Analysis of Twitter/X Content

Friday, February 28, 2025

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM MST

Presenting Author(s)

Joshua J. Cassinat, BS

Medical Student
University of Central Florida College of Medicine, AAP Medical Student Council
Orlando, Florida, United States

Co-Author(s)

Lisa Y. Gong, BS, MA (she/her/hers)

Medical Student
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Cookeville, Tennessee, United States
VP

Vy T. Phan, BS

Medical Student (MS4)
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
SA

Sanjana Ayyagari, BS

Medical Student
Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Pearland, Texas, United States

Corresponding Author(s)

VW

Vonda Wright, MD, MS

Attending Physician
UCF College of Medicine
Orlando, Florida, United States

Objectives: In today's digital age, social media is a key tool for residency programs to connect with applicants, residents, and the medical community. However, limited data exist on how Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) residencies use platforms like Twitter/X to engage audiences. The objective of this study was to analyze the content and engagement metrics of social media posts from PM&R residency programs.

Design: We analyzed Twitter/X posts from residency programs and categorized them into seven groups: Educational/Research, Residency Updates/Achievements, Other, Recruitment/Outreach, Events/Networking, Advocacy/Awareness, and Program Culture/Lifestyle. Metrics including average view count, retweets, and likes were computed for each category. Correlations between these metrics and overall engagement were assessed using multivariate analyses.

Results: Our analysis included a total of 23,443 Twitter/X posts, comprising 12,574 unique posts (53.64%), 9,739 reposts (41.54%), and 1,130 replies (4.82%). Out of the 108 programs identified, 50 (46.73%) had Twitter/X accounts. Median follower count was 928.5 (range: 98-2,882). Median post count was 354.5 (range: 1-1,586). Most common post categories were Educational/Research (32.55%) and Residency Updates/Achievements (22.75%); least common were Advocacy/Awareness (5.61%) and Program Culture/Lifestyle (4.01%). Residency Updates/Achievements and Recruitment/Outreach had significantly positive correlations with overall engagement (p< 0.001). Furthermore, the number of posts and Educational/Research had significantly negative correlations with overall engagement.

Conclusions: Although Educational/Research made up the largest number of posts, it was linked to lower engagement. Additionally, more posts did not lead to higher engagement. However, posts on Residency Updates/Achievements and Recruitment/Outreach drove more engagement. These findings can help PM&R programs refine social media strategies and guide applicants on how programs engage with their audience.