Abstract

CURIOSO, Walter H.  and  CARNERO, Andrés M.. Promoting health research with Twitter. Rev Med Hered [online]. 2011, vol.22, n.3, pp.121-130. ISSN 1018-130X.

Objective: To discuss the role of Twitter as a tool for research and research promotion, and to describe the experience with the Twitter account of the Oficina de Promoción a la Investigación at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH). Methods: To accomplish the first objective, we searched on MEDLINE, LILACS, LIPECS and Google Scholar for articles on the use of Twitter for research and research promotion. For the second objective, we conducted a descriptive analysis of the data from the Twitter account of the Oficina de Promoción a la Investigación at UPCH. Results: Twitter is a free, easy-to-use online service, which allows users to send and receive short messages up to 140 characters (called "tweets"). Twitter allows almost real-time communication, and has been used in health research for surveillance, education and as a tool for health promotion and prevention and adjunct to the treatment of diverse health conditions. In addition, the experience at the Oficina de Promoción a la Investigación shows that Twitter is an efficient media tool for promoting research-related events, funding opportunities and publications. Conclusions: Twitter is an important tool with potential for research and research promotion, as shown by the increasing number of publications, and by the preliminary experience of the Oficina de Promoción a la Investigación. (Rev Med Hered 2011;22:121-130).

Keywords : Internet; research; Peru.

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