Examining midwifery students’ awareness, perception, and attitudes toward the integration of social media into midwifery clinical education: A cross-sectional study from a nursing school in Jordan

Abstract

Background: Social media has emerged as a powerful tool in modern midwifery clinical education, particularly for students who face challenges in accessing training opportunities within gynecology units. Despite its growing relevance, limited research has explored students' perceptions and attitudes regarding the use of social media for clinical education.Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate midwifery students' awareness, perceptions, and attitudes toward the integration of social media into midwifery clinical education.Methods: A cross-sectional design was conducted, enrolling 257 midwifery students from the Nursing School in Jordan between November and December 2023. A self-reported online questionnaire, distributed via Google Forms, was used to assess students' views on the usefulness of social media (19 items) and their attitudes toward its responsible use in clinical education (14 items). Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were conducted for data analysis using IBM SPSS (version 25).Results: The majority of midwifery students (n=130, 50.56%) reported using Telegram as a platform for clinical education. However, a significant portion of students expressed negative attitudes toward the content available on social media (n=147, 57.2%). Most participants followed vloggers or bloggers who provided midwifery educational content (n=216, 84.0%) and engaged in social media groups dedicated to educational resources for midwives (n=211, 82.1%). Notably, younger students under the age of 20 found midwifery-related content on social media to be more beneficial, while unmarried students perceived the content as more accessible compared to their married counterparts.Conclusion: The findings indicate that while midwifery students utilize social media for clinical education, they harbor negative attitudes toward its content. This highlights the need for responsible use of social media and a professional, positive approach. Policies are necessary to guide the integration of social media into midwifery curricula to ensure its effectiveness in education.