Recruitment in the Digital Age: The Implications of Social Media for Physical Medicine and Rehabiliation Applicants

Objective: To investigate the influence of social media interactions with medical students applying to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency programs. Design(s): A cross-sectional online survey of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation applicants recruited to a single university applicant pool that was generally representative of the nationwide applicant pool. Setting(s): Anonymous, voluntary, electronic questionnaire. Participant(s): United States medical students (31.2% female 67.5% male 1.3% prefer not to disclose) who applied to a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency program. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Participant-reported measures by an electronic questionnaire. Result(s): Of the 77 applicants that responded to the survey, 53 (68.8%) followed residency program accounts on social media platforms. Of the social media platforms, Instagram was the most used at 86.8%, followed by Twitter at 56.6%. 86.8% of social media users (SMUs) interacted with residencies on social media platforms (e.g., commenting, liking, direct messaging), which 67.9% reported very positively or positively impacted their perception of residency programs. Overall, 81.1% of SMUs felt more connected to programs that they followed on social media platforms. Around half of SMUs rated that interactions were extremely helpful or very helpful in understanding local culture as well as residency program culture. In fact, 75.5% SMUs agreed that social media is either very important or important in the era of remote/zoom interviews. Interestingly, only a minority of SMUs (24.5%) agreed that interaction with residency programs on social media platforms was extremely or very influential in their ERAS rankings. Conclusion(s): As virtual interviews in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency programs continue in the COVID era, this research indicates that social media plays a large role in program-to-applicant relations during recruitment season and should prompt more programs to foster a stronger connection with applicants through social media.

Learning from the experience and effectiveness of retirement village and extra care housing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose This paper aims to describe the RE-COV study and to summarise its findings. It focuses particularly on the implications of lessons learned for national, operational and building design policy and practice. Design/methodology/approach Invitations to take part in a RE-COV study survey were emailed to the operators of 270 retirement villages and older people's extra care housing schemes in England which were known to the Elderly Accommodation Counsel. Completed questionnaires were returned from 38 operators, online or electronically, between December 2020 and February 2021. Findings Survey findings evidenced the breadth and depth of the operators' responses, the effects these had on residents' lives and worthwhile changes which could be made. Outcomes demonstrated included higher levels of protection for residents from the COVID-19 virus compared to older people living in the general community, and high levels of residents feeling safe, supported and reassured. Practical implications The findings are used to offer evidence-based recommendations for housing operators, building designers and policymakers which could enhance resident, staff and operators' health and well-being, both going forward and during possible future pandemics. Social implications There is evidence that retirement villages and extra care housing provided safe, resilient and supportive environments during the first year of the pandemic which were highly valued by residents. Originality/value This study addressed a knowledge gap regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted housing-with-care stakeholders, evidencing specifically how operators had responded, and what their response achieved.

Social Isolation and Disrupted Privacy Impacts of COVID-19 on Adolescent Girls in Humanitarian Contexts

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has shattered the everyday lives of young people, limiting peer interactions and disrupting privacy, with potential for long-term detrimental impacts. This study uses rapid virtual quantitative and qualitative surveys undertaken from April to July 2020 with over 4,800 adolescents affected by displacement in Bangladesh and Jordan to explore adolescent girls' experiences of social isolation and lack of privacy. Our mixed-methods findings suggest that the pandemic and policy response has caused sharp restrictions on privacy and substantially limited interactions with peers, with larger impacts on girls, particularly those with disabilities. For girls, digital exclusion exacerbates these gender differences. Given that privacy and peer interactions are paramount during adolescence, age-, gender-, and disability-responsive programming is essential to ensure future wellbeing.