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BackgroundHealth researchers are increasingly using social media in a professional capacity, and the applications of social media for health researchers are vast. However, there is currently no published evidence synthesis of the ways in which health researchers use social media professionally, and uncertainty remains as to how best to harness its potential.ObjectiveThis scoping review aimed to explore how social media is used by health researchers professionally, as reported in the literature.MethodsThe scoping review methodology guided by Arksey and O'Malley and Levac et al was used. Comprehensive searches based on the concepts of health research and social media were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC, and Web of Science databases, with no limitations applied. Articles were screened at the title and abstract level and at full text by two reviewers. One reviewer extracted data that were analyzed descriptively to map the available evidence.ResultsA total of 8359 articles were screened at the title and abstract level, of which 719 were also assessed at full text for eligibility. The 414 articles identified for inclusion were published in 278 different journals. Studies originated from 31 different countries, with the most prevalent being the United States (52.7% [218/414]). The health discipline of the first authors varied, with medicine (33.3% [138/414]) being the most common. A third of the articles covered health generally, with 61 health-specific topics. Papers used a range of social media platforms (mean 1.33 [SD 0.7]). A quarter of the articles screened reported on social media use for participant recruitment (25.1% [104/414]), followed by practical ways to use social media (15.5% [64/414]), and use of social media for content analysis research (13.3% [55/414]). Articles were categorized as celebratory (ie, opportunities for engagement, 72.2% [299/414]), contingent (ie, opportunities and possible limitations, 22.7% [94/414]) and concerned (ie, potentially harmful, 5.1% [21/414]).ConclusionsHealth researchers are increasingly publishing on their use of social media for a range of professional purposes. Although most of the sentiment around the use of social media in health research was celebratory, the uses of social media varied widely. Future research is needed to support health researchers to optimize their social media use.

Background: Investing in transitional care programs is critical for ensuring continuity of health and coordinated care for older adults transitioning across health settings. However, literature delineating the scope of transitional care programs across Canada is limited. The aim of this systematic review of text and opinion is to characterize Canadian transitional care programs for older adults transitioning from hospital to home., Methods: Following JBI guidelines for systematic review of text and opinion, we conducted a search of Canadian grey literature sources published online between 2016 to 2023. A 3-phase search was undertaken for: 1) Canadian databases and organizational websites; 2) advanced Google search of national sources and news media reports; and 3) advanced Google search of provincial/territorial sources. Two reviewers independently screened sources for eligibility against inclusion criteria. Data were extracted by one reviewer and verified by a second. Textual data were extracted from multiple sources to characterize each transitional care program., Results: Grey literature search produced a total of 17,092 text and opinion sources, identifying 119 transitional care programs in Canada. Model of care was a key characteristic defining the design and delivery of transitional care programs within community (n = 42), hospital (n = 45), and facility-based (n = 32) settings. Programs were characterized by goal, population and eligibility, setting and length of program, intervention and services, and healthcare team members. Patient, caregiver, and health system outcomes were reported for 18 programs. The province of Ontario has the most transitional care programs (n = 84) and reported outcomes, followed by British Columbia (n = 10)., Conclusions: Characterizing transitional care programs is important for informing health services planning and scaling up of transitional care program models across Canada. Recognizing transitional care programs as a core health service is critical to meet the health care needs of older adults at the right time and place., Trial Registration: PROSPERO ID 298821., Competing Interests: All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest and competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Barber et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)