Bridging Global Gaps in Immuno-Oncology Education Through a Virtual Education Platform

Introduction/Background/Significance: Social media has emerged as a power outlet for medical information, especially in resource-limited regions. However, one third of social media posts contain misinformation with 76.9% of them containing harmful information leading to adverse outcomes. MedNews Week (MNW), a free, virtual educational platform streamed on most social media platforms was developed to provide global health education through its immuno-oncology programming. The Immuno-oncology (IO) Keynote Conference features live virtual presentations from the field's global leaders discussing the latest advancements before a broad, mainstream global audience. The aim of this study was to assess the worldwide reach and impact of this cost-free, virtual medical education platform.

Materials and Methods/Case Presentation/Objective: From January 2022 to December 2024, MNW hosted 50 internationally recognized IO leaders (h-index = 75). Viewership, impressions, and social media outreach data were collected from the accounts of MNW and its respective members. In collaboration with Symplur, data was analyzed to measure the program's global reach, and a mixed-methods approach was employed to assess engagement.

Results/Description/Main Outcome Measures: During this 2-year period, MNW programming extended across 100 countries (44 lower SES regions) with 20K+ tweets, 6.8K retweets, and 100 million+ Twitter impressions (Fig 1). Tweets included an average of 3–5 hashtags, enhancing cross-community dialogue and expanding global visibility. Network analysis focused on MNW Twitter chat moderators (@yleyfman, @CParkMD) and contributing researcher (@ShimaghavimiMD), identifying them as central nodes of engagement (Fig. 2). Although full participant mapping was not feasible, analysis revealed a marked increase in connection density and communication flow, indicating strengthened audience engagement. A steady increase in Keynote Conference participation was observed throughout the study period (Fig. 3), reflecting rising global interest. In 2023, as in-person work resumed post-pandemic, virtual attendance briefly declined. Despite this temporary dip, engagement and attendance rebounded and steadily increased, underscoring the resilience and sustained relevance of MNW's global initiatives.

Conclusions: MNW's continued growth in viewership and global reach as a virtual and cost-free platform demonstrates its emergence as a viable outlet to combat medical misinformation, especially in lower socioeconomic regions. The platform directly addresses key barriers to health education, including limited internet access and financial constraints, particularly in low-resource and underserved regions. Growth has been especially pronounced in underserved areas, highlighting the platform's accessibility, affordability, and relevance. The platform's ability to showcase global leaders to a mainstream audience at no cost offers a practical, scalable approach to combat educational inequity. MNW has demonstrated great potential to positively impact global IO education.