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Though there are more than 645 million Twitter users across the world, only 14 percent of health policy researchers use the service and nearly 20 percent use blogs and Facebook to communicate their research findings, according to a new research. 

Contrastingly, sixty-five percent use traditional media channels, i.e., press releases and media interviews. 

The research added that while participants believed in sharing through social media, they lacked the confidence to use it. Further they believed that their academic peers and institutions did not value it or respect it as much as traditional media. 

"Our study uncovered four central findings," explained lead author, David Grande, MD, MPA, assistant professor of Medicine at Penn Medicine, in the press release. "First, most health policy researchers are not using social media to communicate their research results, which could be a significant missed opportunity to expose a larger audience to important health news and findings."

According to researchers, developing an understanding of how to use these tools could help alleviate concerns about the information being superficially presented. 

"Historically, there has been a significant communication gap between researchers, on the one hand, and policy makers and the public at large, on the other," said senior author Zachary Meisel, MD, assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at Penn, in the press release. "Social media channels are promising tools for closing this gap, provided they are used appropriately and effectively. As a first step, medical schools and health care institutions should help to educate researchers on how to properly use these channels to circulate their research findings and discuss implications."

Full results are published in the journal Health Affairs.