Consolidating a program theory on how social media supports healthcare providers’ knowledge use in clinical practice: a realist-informed qualitative study

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to consolidate a program theory, developed from a previous realist review, to further understand how and under what circumstances social media supports healthcare providers’ knowledge use. Methods: A realist-informed qualitative study was conducted. We carried out in-depth interviews with 11 participants, including content developers and healthcare providers from China, Australia, and Canada. The data analysis was informed by categorizing and connecting strategies. Results: Ten context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOs) were developed to consolidate the program theory. Among these, four CMOs confirmed the original CMOs from the realist review, four refined the original ones, and two were new propositions. These 10 CMOs were situated within four interconnected levels of outcomes: social media product, access, engagement, and knowledge use. They considered 1) content developers’ capabilities and capacities, 2) healthcare providers’ increased attention, 3) fulfillment of information needs, 4) access to social influence and support, 5) perception of message value and implementability, 6) behaviour capabilities, self-efficacy, intention, and awareness; and 7) ability to exercise professional autonomy as the key mechanisms. We developed the consolidated program theory based on the 10 CMOs. Conclusions: Social media can promote knowledge use by healthcare providers. Future empirical studies drawing on the program theory need to be conducted to further optimize the theoretical understanding.