SOCIAL MEDIA &
HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Iris Thiele Isip Tan MD, MSc
@endocrine_witch
Professor, UP College of Medicine
Chief, UP Medical Informatics Unit
Director, UP Manila Interactive Learning Center
Social media as
a platform
Transforming
health messages
My Dok Bru
experience
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Your friend notices that you have
a brownish patch at the back of
your neck. She says it looks scary.
She takes a picture of it to show
to you. What would you do?
A. Google for more information
B. Post the picture on your FB wall and
ask friends
C. See a doctor
D. None of the above
Pei-Li Teh & Marc Yates (2013)
researchpartnership.com
Pei-Li Teh & Marc Yates (2013)
researchpartnership.com
Nine in ten had accessed the internet looking
for healthcare information, with almost 3/4s
having done so in the last month.
GENERAL HEALTHCARE WEBSITES
ONLINE HEALTH FORUMS
HEALTH COMMUNITY WEBSITES
DISEASE WEBSITES
CLINICAL WEBSITES
PHARMACEUTICAL WEBSITES
WIKIS
E-NEWSLETTER
FACEBOOK
%
0 25 50 75 100
HEALTH INFORMATION SOURCES EVER USED
Pei-Li Teh & Marc Yates (2013)
researchpartnership.com
(Philippines)
25%
Patients are increasingly using online social networks to
connect with other patients and healthcare professionals
PEER-TO-PEER HEALTHCARE
Pagoda S. et a. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social Media Delivery
J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Provide health information
Provide answers to medical Qs
Facilitate dialogue
Collect patient data
Health promotion
Moorhead SA et al. J Med Internet Res 2013;15(4):e85
Health education
Reduce stigma
Online consultation
BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Increase interaction
Increase accessibility
More available, shared, tailored information
Moorhead SA et al. J Med Internet Res 2013;15(4):e85
Peer/social/emotional support
Public health surveillance
Potential to influence health
policy
LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Lack of reliability
Quality concerns
Moorhead SA et al. J Med Internet Res 2013;15(4):e85
Concern over veracity & quality of information
Increased use to post anecdotal information
Minimal guidelines regulating content uploaded
Madathil KC et al. Health Informatics J 2015;21(3):173-194
HEALTH-RELATED INFORMATION ON YOUTUBE
Health consumers are
viewing health-related
information on YouTube
Misleading information is
found on YouTube & likely
to be found by health
consumers
Reliable postings from
government/professional
orgs are available
Little difference between
frequency of viewings
between misleading &
accurate posts
Madathil KC et al. Health Informatics J 2015;21(3):173-194
SAFETY CONCERNS WITH YOUTUBEYouTube is used as a
medium for promoting
unscientific therapies
YouTube contains
information contradicting
reference standards/
guidelines
YouTube can change the
beliefs of patients about
controversial topics
i.e. vaccination
Significant lack of research on developing interventions for the effective
dissemination of YouTube videos for healthcare communication.
Madathil KC et al. Health Informatics J 2015;21(3):173-194
Moorhead SA et al. J Med Internet Res 2013;15(4):e85
LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Lack of confidentiality & privacy
Often unaware of risks of disclosing
personal information online
LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Unaware of risks of
communicating harmful/
incorrect advice using
social media
Unsure how to correctly
apply information found
online to their personal
health situation
Information overload
Moorhead SA et al. J Med Internet Res 2013;15(4):e85
LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Adverse health consequences
Negative health behaviors
Moorhead SA et al. J Med Internet Res 2013;15(4):e85
LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR HEALTH COMMUNICATION Moorhead SA et al. J Med
Internet Res 2013;15(4):e85
Health professionals may not often
use social media for communication
Social media may act as a deterrent from
visiting health professionals
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
You have a mass in your neck that the doctor says needs a
biopsy. Your mother refuses to have it done because sticking
a needle in the mass will make it spread, if it’s cancer.
A. Google for more information
B. Look for people online with a similar experience
C. Look for someone you know with a similar experience
D. Have the biopsy done
Do cultural variations exist in patterns
of online health information seeking?
Song et al. Trusting Social Media as a Source of Health Information: Online Surveys
Comparing the United States, Korea, and Hong Kong. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
HEALTH INFORMATIONSong et al. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
Expertise-based information
produced by medical professionals
Experience-based information
laypersons’ subjective first-hand
experiences of health & illness
Song et al. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
English (Milwaukee) n=301
Korean (Seoul) n=179
Chinese (Hongkong) n=337
826 College students
Voluntary participation
Health information seeking & trust
Goals of online health information seeking
Seeking health information on
behalf of family members
Frequency of using health
information sources
Song et al. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
Blogs
Support groups
Social networks
Professional
health information
websites
SEEKING HEALTH INFORMATION ONLINE
Song et al. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
GOALS
health maintenance
preparation
complementing consultation
validating/challenging consultation
“Searching information for sick family
members is an important family responsibility.”
7-point Likert scale
HEALTH INFORMATIONSong et al. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
Expertise-based information
Americans showed a stronger
preference for WebMD & CDC
Experience-based information
Asians showed more trust in
blogs, online support groups &
social networking sites
SEEKING HEALTH INFORMATION ONLINE
Song et al. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
“Searching information for sick family
members is an important family responsibility.”
Asians > Americans
HOLISTIC vs ANALYTIC culture
SEEKING HEALTH INFORMATION ONLINE
Song et al. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
GOALS
Health maintenance
Americans > Asians
Preparation
Americans > Asians
Complementing consultation
Asians > Americans 7-point Likert scale
Song et al. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
Social media can help disseminate expertise-based health
information by enhancing access, relevance and credibility.
Experience-based information can be strategically and
differentially incorporated into expertise-based health information
to target audiences from diverse cultures.
Song et al. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e25)
Incorporating health professionals’ comments
in health-related blogs, SNS, and support group sites
may be imperative for Asians.
Social media as
a platform
Transforming
health messages
My Dok Bru
experience
WHAT IS THE AD TELLING US?
A. Eat more burgers.
B. It is possible to eat burgers for a lifetime and not
have a heart attack.
C. Elderly should be allowed to eat burgers.
D. It’s about love, not burgers.
The new challenge for hypertension programs is
maintaining community interest while reiterating the
same health messages.
“
Logan A. Community hypertension programs in the age of mobile
technology & social media. Am J Hypertension 2014;27(8): 1033-1035
HOW TO PACKAGE
MESSAGES ON
SOCIAL MEDIA
Logan A. Community hypertension programs in the age of mobile
technology & social media. Am J Hypertension 2014;27(8): 1033-1035
Pagoda S. et al. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social Media Delivery
J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
Behavior
counseling
Supplemental
information
Maximize attendance
& retention
Place to
connect
PURPOSE
PLATFORM
SELECTION
Pagoda S. et al. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social Media Delivery
J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
CONTENT LIBRARY
Pagoda S. et al. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social
Media Delivery J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
Web page conversion
Posts
Curated online content
ENGAGEMENT PLAN Group chats
Micro-
counseling
Pagoda S. et al. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social
Media Delivery J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
Pagoda S. et al. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social
Media Delivery J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
REPORTING
How many likes?
How many replies?
How many posts did participants make?
What is the optimal size for an online network
for a behavioral intervention?
Pagoda S. et al. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social Media Delivery
J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
What is the ideal structure of a group intervention?
Pagoda S. et al. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social Media Delivery
J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
Pagoda S. et al. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social Media Delivery
J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
WHAT IS MEANINGFUL
ENGAGEMENT?
FOR
WHOM?
Pagoda S. et al. Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social Media Delivery
J Med Internet Res 2016;18(1):e24
Social media as
a platform
Transforming
health messages
My Dok Bru
experience
IRIS THIELE ISIP TAN MD, MSC
Director, UP Manila Interactive Learning Center
Chief, UP Medical Informatics Unit
Professor, UP College of Medicine
@endocrine_witch