Psychiatry education on social media: experience of a university extension project
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25118/2763-9037.2026.v16.1675Keywords:
mental health, health education, social media, instagramAbstract
Introduction: Social media platforms are relevant spaces for seeking and disseminating mental health information; however, the quality of the content is heterogeneous and often includes misinformation. University initiatives aimed at expanding the availability of evidence-based information and creating educational opportunities in digital scientific communication are essential for academic training and engagement with the community. Objective: To describe the implementation and results of a university extension project in the field of Psychiatry. Methods: Experience report of a digital educational intervention in mental health, organized through two thematic profiles, “Papo de Ansiosos” and “Papo de Neurodivergentes.” Institutional implementation records and aggregated metrics provided by the platform were analyzed, including the number of activities, views, accounts reached, source of views, and student participation. Results: Fourteen undergraduate students in Medicine or related fields participated, seven in each profile, with 180 hours of activities per student. A total of 90 educational activities were produced, 50 on anxiety disorders and 40 on neurodivergence, totaling 32,463 views. The profiles recorded 18,873 and 13,590 views, respectively, with a reported reach of 2,354 and 1,695 accounts. In the profile focused on anxiety, 51.7% of the views came from non-followers. Conclusion: The experience demonstrated operational feasibility and the capacity to disseminate psychoeducational content on mental health. The available metrics do not allow inferences regarding learning, changes in attitudes, stigma reduction, or clinical effects; future evaluations should incorporate validated educational outcomes.
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