title: Use of facebook as a tool for knowledge dissemination in dermatology.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The presence of dermatology-related platforms in social media has been acknowledged; however, the level of engagement of the public with these platforms has not been evaluated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To use the Engagement Rate to assess the level of engagement of the public with Facebook pages devoted to dermatology.
  
  
  METHODS
  A search on Facebook identified Facebook pages for dermatology academic journals, professional societies, and patient-centered groups with the highest number of Facebook likes. Then the Yearly Page Engagement Rate was calculated for each Facebook page.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The robust average of the Yearly Page Engagement Rate was 0.673 for academic journals, 0.313 for professional societies, and 1.563 for patient-centered groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patient-centered groups engaged with their fans most effectively. Engagement is a key determinant of a fan's exposure to the contents of the page and hence a gauge of whether the fans who "liked" the page continue to remain engaged or not.
authors.forename: Whan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vender
mesh_terms: D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003880:Dermatology; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D061108:Social Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*