Twitter and Microblogging for Public Health

Twittering* for Public Health * (and Plurking and more) PF Anderson, Emerging Technologies Librarian, Health Sciences Libraries, University of Michigan, pfa@umich.edu October 7, 2008

Overview

What is Twitter? What is microblogging?

How regular folks are using Twitter

Twitter for health and public health

Twitter

http://twitter.com/

Twitter lifecycle

http://cogdoghouse.wikispaces.com/TwitterCycle

Twitter is …

Twitter is a type of tool

Twitter = Microblogging (sort of)

Microblogging ≠ Twitter

Microblogging = (Twitter OR FriendFeed OR identi.ca OR Plurk OR … )

The World of Microblogging

Twitter OR FriendFeed OR identi.ca OR Jaiku OR Pownce OR Plurk OR Tumblr OR …

Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Sphere-wireframe.png

… and more …

HelloTxt.com

Ping.fm

Pushing information out widely

Twitter is …

for friends

for current events

for silliness

like fishing

like a chatroom

an RSS feed generator

and what else?

for news

for crisis response

for intelligent discussion

like sex

a microblogging tool

the social search engine we’ve all been waiting for

Plurking, too!

Plurk

Plurk Conversations

Plurk + Workshop = Plurkshop

Plurkshops

Twitter for productivity

Twitter + time management

Twitter + task management

Twitter + calendar

Twitter + weather

Twitter + traffic

More

Twitter for discovery

Twitter + health news

Twitter + health legislation

HR 2790 – Physician Assistants

Today’s buzz – Google Health

Today’s buzz - Google Health

attillacsordas

dporter

laktek

Google

Google API

Using Twitter in health & healthcare

Thoughts: Health promotion

“ In an attempt to provide an integrative model that is relevant to SBI, dissemination strategies are discussed for three target groups: (1) individual patients and practitioners; (2) health care settings and health systems; and (3) the communities and the general population. Dissemination strategies are considered from the fields of social change, social science, commercial marketing and education in terms of their potential for translating SBI innovations into routine clinical practice.”

Babor TF, Higgins-Biddle JC. Alcohol screening and brief intervention: dissemination strategies for medical practice and public health. Addiction 95(5) 677-686.

Twitter + exercise

Twitter + health tracking

“Tweet your pain”

Twitter + food tracking

Twitter + blood sugar tracking

Twitter + dieting

Twitter + dieting + support

Twitter + smoking cessation

Twitter + cancer

Twitter + activism

Twitter + make a difference

Thoughts: Disaster & crisis response

“ The goal is to provide accurate information in a timely fashion on the health status of the affected population.”

Noji, Eric K. The Public Health Consequences of Disaster

Twitter in crisis communication

http://www.slideshare.net/davefleet/talk-is-cheap-crisis-presentation

Twitter + disaster & crisis preparedness

Twitter + emergency response

Twitter + ground zero

Twitter + rapid alerts

Twitter + personal crisis

surgery

Twittering birth

Momku writes poetry during birth

Thoughts: Community communication & collaboration

“ Enhance communication by:

Developing effective employer and community education programs focused on the benefits of and options for health promotion and disease and injury prevention, and

Using proven marketing and social marketing techniques to promote individual behavioral and community change.”

The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century. Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century, Institute of Medicine (U.S.) National Academies Press, 2003, p. 299.

Doctors have lives, too

So do nurses

And dentists

Research collaboration & communication

Twitter + Telemedicine + Second Opinion

Twitter + education using health feeds

Twitter + teaching

Twitter + events & topics