Social media for research dissemination: A research network’s Twitter (X) journey and development of a logic model framework for knowledge translation (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Research dissemination is a vital step in bridging the gap between the publication of cutting edge research and its adoption into clinical practice. Social media is gaining increasing prominence in academic medicine as a way to engage, educate, and accelerate knowledge translation. Guidance on best practices is needed for research organizations and medical institutions hoping to launch professional social media accounts. OBJECTIVE To provide a roadmap for organizations creating a professional Twitter account for research dissemination. METHODS This was a mixed methods study. A qualitative approach collected the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network’s (PECARN) Twitter team's experience from 2020 to 2023. We initially extracted insights from team members' experiences using a Nominal Group Technique and Slack communications. Subsequently we analyzed quantitative data from Twitter performance metrics and Altmetrics Attention Scores for feature journal publications. The two datasets informed the design of a logic model, offering a practical framework for research organizations planning to use Twitter for research dissemination. RESULTS Five stakeholders generated 63 thematic statements that coalesced into 9 categories of recommendation statements that formulated a logic model. We provide recommendations for each aspect, overlaid by our experiences and relevant analytic data. We also describe the priorities, assumptions, and external factors which influenced our decision and findings. CONCLUSIONS Highlighting the role of social media in knowledge translation, we describe the importance of a strategic Twitter presence for research organizations and medical institutions. Our logic model roadmap, based on our practical multi-year experience and data-driven strategies, hopefully can serve as a guide for organizations aiming to incorporate Twitter for research dissemination.