The document discusses communication strategies for physicians using social media. It provides an overview of the current communication landscape, including the rise of online health information searching, virtual communities, and wellness apps. It also addresses the power of social media for sharing information rapidly with specialized audiences. Key recommendations include being a good listener, focusing on the audience, providing expert information while avoiding personal details, and emphasizing feedback over opinions to facilitate participation and networking.

1. The communicator’s art
Giulia Annovi
YOUNG ONCOLOGISTS: Specialists in the Science and Art of Patient
Care – Bologna 29,30 March 2017

2. Cancer speakers
Patient
Colleagues
Media
Public
Relatives
Social
Media

3. Cancer speakers

4. The communication landscape
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Digital News Report
2016

Blog - therapy

Online self-diagnosis

Virtual communities

Online Physicians

Well-being app

5. The communication landscape
Smith, Katherine C., et al. "Advancing cancer control research in an emerging news media environment." J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2013.47 (2013): 175-
81.
Health is currently the eighth most common news topic overall
Cancer ranks first among disease-specific news coverage
Millions: Italian people searching health information online

6. The communication landscape
D Gareth R Evans et al. The Angelina Jolie effect: how high celebrity profile can have a major impact on provision of cancer related services
Breast Cancer Research201416:442
Biancovilli, Priscila, Gabriel de Oliveira Cardoso Machado, and Claudia Jurberg. "Celebrity and health promotion: how media can play an active role in
cancer prevention and early detection." Journal of Media and Communication Studies 7.3 (2015): 41.
75% of Americans were aware of Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy,
fewer than 10% of respondents had the information necessary to accurately interpret her risk
However, 9% of women were motivated to do something about their health, such as seeing a
doctor,
having a mammogram or seeing a genetic counselor.

7. The communication landscape
Smith, Katherine C., et al. "Advancing cancer control research in an emerging news media environment." J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2013.47 (2013): 175-
81.
More focused on treatment than prevention*
Emphasizing individual-level behavioural*
Personal stories aren’t evidence based
A single issue or event often receives conflicting coverage from multiple
media outlets.
News coverage of research is frequently criticized for neglecting appropriate
caveats, limitations, or acknowledgement of ambiguity*
BUT

8. Media Evolution

9. Going into the MEDIA

10. Listen
More than examining
the scientific
accuracy of messages

11. Communication, what does it mean?

Recall information

Satisfied

Supported

Physicians are in-line
F. Stiefel, C. Bourquin; Communication in oncology: now we train - but how well?. Ann Oncol 2016; 27 (9): 1660-1663. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdw229
IT’S BETTER TO REACH
EVERYONE

12. The individual side of communication

13. The power of the World Wide Web

Database, repository, data collection

Sharing a lot of information and
knowledge

Linking documents

Different languages and media

14. Speed and dynamism

Rapid (and precise) responses

Availability

Digital press kit

Quick tracking

Podcast/video/Multimedia

Shareable

Data repositories

Surveillance

15. Specialized audience

Tailored contents

Respect of diversities

Targeting stories

Pros and cons

16. Focus on the audience
Broadcast your
information
Advice
Seize the
moment
Be useful
Comparison
Learning
Sharing
Scholarly
selfie

17. Speaking with journalists

Preparedness

Help them

I don’t have time….

Framework

Questions

Brief, precise, clear

Play down

18. Participation

19. A participative audience
Peer – to – peer dialogue*
Shared decision
Positive relationship
Increased adherence to therapies
Personal choice
Less medical authority*

20. Can I tell you….?
David W. Kissane,Barry D. Bultz,Phyllis N. Butow,Carma L. Bylund,Simon Noble,Susie Wilkinson. Oxford
Textbook
of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care. Oxford University Press, 23 feb 2017

21. The patient writer
∼63% of users acquire
their news from social
media

22. Evitate errori online
Blogs and social media are undoubtedly an important component of the online information
environment, and they challenge traditional structures of news creation and delivery

23. Are them useful for us?
Xu, Songhua et al. “Leveraging Social Media to Promote Public Health Knowledge: Example of Cancer Awareness via Twitter.” Ed. Gunther Eysenb
JMIR Public Health and Surveillance 2.1 (2016): e17. PMC. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.

24. 200 platforms
Overdrive Interactive
http://www.ovrdrv.com

25. Medical platforms
Italian Social Network URL
DottNet https://www.dottnet.it/articolo
Esanum http://www.esanum.it/
Inderma http://www.inderma.it/
Camici in rete http://www.camiciinrete.it/
Nuto http://www.nuto.it/

26. Different audience

27. What social needs are being satisfied via the use
of social media?
Community dimension
Learning dimension → CONSTRUCTIVISM and CONNECTIVISM
Information dimension → not active;
People respond to information by seeking more information, but also by:
IGNOR
E
MAKE
SMALLE
R
BUILD A
BRIDG
E
Natalya Godbold. Beyond information seeking: towards a general model of information behaviour. Information Researh
Vol. 11 No. 4, July 2006
sharing or spreading information, creating documents, telling other people
taking mental note (non specific goal or goal not imagined yet)
avoiding or ignoring information
disputing or disbelieving information
hiding and / or destroying information

28. The post – truth era
The more active a user is, the more the
user tends to focus on a small number
of news sources*
Listening and empathy*
Creation of languages and figure of
speech
Give sense

29. The patient writer
Emotions
Storytelling
Expertise
Potentially
misleading

30. What about physicians?
Lefebvre C, Mesner J, Stopyra J, et al. Social Media in Professional Medicine: New Resident Perceptions and Practices. Eysenbach G, ed.
Journal
of Medical Internet Research. 2016;18(6):e119. doi:10.2196/jmir.5612.

31. So why should I….?
Amanda Clark, MD, and Avital O’Glasser, MD, FACP. Vox Popularis: Social Media and
PARTICIPATION / NETWORK

32. Social media tips

33. Social media tips...to be a leader
Very good listener
Technically expert
Expert
Available on social
media
Attentive
Respectful of rules

34. Conclusions
Mean
Contents (and don’t forget the
privacy)
Select your audience
No personal advertisement
No personal life
No Service Alerts
No pictures
No comments

35. Conclusions
Feedback
No opinion is better
Curiosity
Questions

36. References
CROARI, Giuseppe et al. Comunicazione sanitaria e social media: rischi e opportunità. Pratica Medica & Aspetti Legali, [S.l.], v. 10, n. 3, aug. 2016.
ISSN 2283-4044.
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Digital News Report 2016
Smith, Katherine C., et al. "Advancing cancer control research in an emerging news media environment." J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2013.47
(2013): 175-81.
D Gareth R Evans et al. The Angelina Jolie effect: how high celebrity profile can have a major impact on provision of cancer related services
Breast Cancer Research2014 16:442
Biancovilli, Priscila, Gabriel de Oliveira Cardoso Machado, and Claudia Jurberg. "Celebrity and health promotion: how media can play an active
role in cancer prevention and early detection." Journal of Media and Communication Studies 7.3 (2015): 41.
F. Stiefel, C. Bourquin; Communication in oncology: now we train - but how well?. Ann Oncol 2016; 27 (9): 1660-1663. doi:
10.1093/annonc/mdw229
Sedrak MS, Cohen RB, Merchant RM, Schapira MM. Cancer Communication in the Social Media Age. JAMA Oncol. 2016;2(6):822-823.
doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.5475
David W. Kissane,Barry D. Bultz,Phyllis N. Butow,Carma L. Bylund,Simon Noble,Susie Wilkinson. Oxford Textbook
of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care. Oxford University Press, 23 feb 2017
Natalya Godbold. Beyond information seeking: towards a general model of information behaviour. Information Researh

37. References
Pinto C and Annovi G. Nelle reti. L’oncologo ha un sistema complesso di comunicazione e relazioni. Il Pensiero
Scientifico Editore, 2016
Affinito L and Ricciardi W. E-patients and social media. Come sviluppare una strategia di comunicazione per
Migliorare salute e sanità. Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore, 2016
Amanda Clark, MD, and Avital O’Glasser, MD, FACP. Vox Popularis: Social Media and Medicine
Lefebvre C, Mesner J, Stopyra J, et al. Social Media in Professional Medicine: New Resident Perceptions and Practices. Eysenbach G, ed. Journal
of Medical Internet Research. 2016;18(6):e119. doi:10.2196/jmir.5612.
Ana Lucía Schmidt, Fabiana Zollo, Michela Del Vicario, Alessandro Bessi, Antonio Scala, Guido Caldarelli, H Eugene Stanley, Walter
Quattrociocchi Anatomy of news consumption on Facebook. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017