An Introduction and discussion of social media and health promotion for public health graduate students

1. Web &
Emerging
Technologies
in Health
Promotion
Naomi Hirsch
Research Translation &
Community Outreach
Environmental Health Sciences Center
Superfund Research Program

2. Overview
 Identify on-line technologies/tools
 Discuss example projects
 Why they work?
 Review what is known on effectiveness
 Share resources
Digital Age: 1) the spread of broadband; 2) the rise of mobile
connectivity; and 3) the emergence of technological social
networks

3. Tools
 Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, blogs,
YouTube videos, Flickr, podcasting, LinkedIn,
SlideShare, texting, apps…
 Interactive Maps: – ArcGIS online,
Google Earth
 Webinars, On-line interactive education,
Skype, video conferencing
 Smart Games/Virtual Reality
Social media includes web-based and mobile technologies
used to turn communication into interactive dialogue.
(Wikipedia)

4. Health Promotion Examples
 ShotbyShot: digital storytelling, youtube, Facebook -
www.Shotbyshot.org
 Text2Quit: Texting https://www.text2quit.com/
 DC Takes on HIV: text messages, videos -
http://www.dctakesonhiv.com/
 Patientslikeme: http://www.patientslikeme.com/
 Pocket Guides: Mobile apps, social networks
Healthy Child Healthy World
 HealthMap: http://healthmap.org/en/
 UCSF – Committed to the City: maps, video, social
media http://www.ucsf.edu/news/community
 MDChat: twitter chats http://mdchat.org/
 Right to Know: http://righttoknow.sfsu.edu/

5. Analyzing Effectiveness
 SocialMedia for Health Promotion: An
Analysis of a Facebook Community
Promoting Breast Cancer Awareness
Research of the National Cancer Institute
1. Open space for self-expression
2. Awareness with little health information
3. The commodification of breast cancer
4. Unpredictable locations of conversation
Most Facebook Groups do not have a large amount of user-
generated comments.
-Blogs have been found to have much more discussion and
comments.
- Twitter has more activity and posts than Facebook (but
fewer people than Facebook)

6. CDC’s Lesson Learned
1. Make Strategic Choices and Understand the Level of Effort
2. Go Where the People Are Pew Internet
3. Adopt Low-Risk Tools First Survey (Feb. 2012)
4. Make Sure Messages Are Science-based 65% of adults
5. Create Portable Content use social
networking
6. Facilitate Viral Information Sharing sites, of those
7. Encourage Participation 68% said they
had an
8. Leverage Networks
experience that
9. Provide Multiple Formats made them feel
10. Consider Mobile Technologies good about
themselves.
11. Set Realistic Goals
12. Learn from Metrics and Evaluate Efforts
Health Communicator's Social Media Toolkit (pdf)

7. Resources
 CDC’s Blogs and Health Communicator's
Social Media Toolkit (pdf)
 Expert Round Table on Social Media and
Risk Communication during Times of Crisis
- A special report from APHA
 Socialmedia increasingly used to gauge
public health
“medical experts agree that the benefits outweigh the
drawbacks when it comes to the impact of social media on
public health” (Nov. 2011article)
 Naomi’s Social Media Resources
(regularly updated)