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BackgroundSocial media provides the potential to engage a wide audience about scientific research, including the public. However, little empirical research exists to guide health scientists regarding what works and how to optimize impact. We examined the social media campaign #datasaveslives established in 2014 to highlight positive examples of the use and reuse of health data in research. ObjectiveThis study aims to examine how the #datasaveslives hashtag was used on social media, how often, and by whom; thus, we aim to provide insights into the impact of a major social media campaign in the UK health informatics research community and further afield. MethodsWe analyzed all publicly available posts (tweets) that included the hashtag #datasaveslives (N=13,895) on the microblogging platform Twitter between September 1, 2016, and August 31, 2017. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses, we determined the frequency and purpose of tweets. Social network analysis was used to analyze and visualize tweet sharing (retweet) networks among hashtag users. ResultsOverall, we found 4175 original posts and 9720 retweets featuring #datasaveslives by 3649 unique Twitter users. In total, 66.01% (2756/4175) of the original posts were retweeted at least once. Higher frequencies of tweets were observed during the weeks of prominent policy publications, popular conferences, and public engagement events. Cluster analysis based on retweet relationships revealed an interconnected series of groups of #datasaveslives users in academia, health services and policy, and charities and patient networks. Thematic analysis of tweets showed that #datasaveslives was used for a broader range of purposes than indexing information, including event reporting, encouraging participation and action, and showing personal support for data sharing. ConclusionsThis study shows that a hashtag-based social media campaign was effective in encouraging a wide audience of stakeholders to disseminate positive examples of health research. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the campaign supported community building and bridging practices within and between the interdisciplinary sectors related to the field of health data science and encouraged individuals to demonstrate personal support for sharing health data.

Aims: Errors with prescribing high‐risk medicines (HRMs) have a greater propensity to cause harm than with non‐HRMs. Prescribing errors arise due to multiple factors and it can be particularly challenging for junior doctors to prescribe safely during the on‐call period. Knowledge regarding the challenges of prescribing HRM during the on‐call period would be useful to target preventative interventions. The aim of this study was to explore the challenges encountered by foundation doctors (doctors who have graduated medical school within the last 2 years) when prescribing specific HRMs (anticoagulants, insulin and opioids) safely during the on‐call period. Methods: Six focus groups exploring the challenges of prescribing HRMs safely during the on‐call period were conducted, 3 with foundation year 1 and 3 with foundation year 2 doctors from across 3 different hospitals. A thematic framework analysis based on the London Protocol was conducted. Results: Doctors described multiple challenges to prescribing HRMs safely during the on‐call period including a lack of prescribing support, nursing pressure, complex prescribing tasks, unknown patients as well as individual factors such as lack of knowledge and tiredness. Many of these factors exist to some extent during the day, yet the nature of the on‐call period as a fast‐paced environment heightened the challenges that prescribers faced. Conclusion: There are multiple challenges experienced by foundation doctors when prescribing HRMs during the on‐call period. The potentially devastating consequences of errors with HRMs means that closer attention and more concern from healthcare professionals, researchers and policymakers is required to improve safe prescribing of HRMs in hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]