Social Media and its Use in Health Promotion
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18192/riss-ijhs.v1i1.1534Keywords:
Social media, social networking, health promotion, health communication, online health information, emergency management, interprofessional communicationAbstract
Social media holds considerable potential for health promotion and other health intervention activities, as it addresses some of the limitations in traditional health communication by increasing accessibility, interaction, engagement, empowerment and customization. The use of social media increases the potential for easy access to preventive medicine, interaction with health care providers, interprofessional communication in emergency management, and public health. However, more research is needed to determine its long term effectiveness and to maximize the strategic presence of health organizations on social networking websites. This paper provides encouraging information about the possibilities of using social media to improve access to health information and health care providers, as well as to promote positive health behaviour change. It is essential for health promotion organizations to capitalize on the opportunities provided by social media, in order to modernize strategies to reach all age groups and to tailor programs to current communication trends, all of which are offered at a relatively low cost.
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Abroms, L. C., & Maibach, E. W. (2008). The Effectiveness of Mass Communication to Change Public Behavior. Annual Review of Public Health, 29, 219-234. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090824
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Barry, K. (2009). Ford Bets the Fiesta on Social Networking. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/04/how-the-fiesta/
Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), improving the health of Canadians: Promoting healthy weights, Report on the Canadian Population Health Initiative, CIHI: Ottawa, Canada, 2006
Cassell, M., Jackson, C., & Cheuvront, B. (1998). Health Communication on the Internet: An Effective Channel for Health Behavior Change? Journal of Health Communication, 3(1), 71-79
Cheema, A., & Kaikati, A. (2010). The Effect of Need for Uniqueness on Word of Mouth. Journal of Marketing Research, 47(3), 553-563. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.47.3.553
Cohen, E. (2009). Should you “friend” your doctor on Facebook? CNN Health. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/03/ friending.your.doctor/index.html
Coyle, C. L., & Vaughn, H. (2008). Social Networking: Communication Revolution or Evolution? Bell Labs Technical Journal, 13(2) 13-18. doi: 10.1002/bltj.20298
Danaei, G., Ding, E. L., Mozaffarian, D., Taylor, B., Rehm, J., Murray, C. J., & Ezzati, M. (2009). The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors. PLoS Medicine, 6(4), e1000058. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000058
Deloitte Media Predictions, TMT Trends. (2009). Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 4-22.
Eng., T. R., & Gustafson, D. H. (1999). Wired for Health and Well-Being: The Emergence of Interactive Health Communication. Science Panel on Interactive Communication and Health. Executive Summary.
Facebook. (2009). Facebook Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/facebook?ref=pf#/press/ info.php?statistics
Farhi, P. (2009). The Twitter Explosion. American Journalism Review, 31(3), 26-31. Retrieved from ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=4756
Freeman, B., & Chapman, S. (2008). Gone Viral? Heard the Buzz? A Guide for Public Health Practitioners and Researchers on how Web 2.0 Can Subvert Advertising Restrictions and Spread Health Information. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 62(9), 778-782. doi: 10.1136/jech.2008.073759
Frick, K. D. (2006). Cost-effectiveness Studies of Behavior Change Communication Campaigns: Assessing the State of the Science and How to Move the Field Forward. Journal of Health Communication, 11(Suppl 2), 163-73. doi: 10.1080/10810730600974894
Hartoonian, N., Ormseth, S., O’Carroll Bantum, E., & Owen, J. (2008). Process and Outcome Evaluation of a Social Networking Website for Health Promotion. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, B090, s63
Grewal, R., Cline, T. W., & Davies, A. (2003). Early-Entrant Advantage, Word-of-Mouth Communication, Brand Similarity, and the Consumer Decision-Making Process. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13(3): 187-197. doi: 10.1207/S15327663JCP1303_01
Godes, D. & Mayzlin, D. (2004). Using Online Conversations to Study Word-of-Mouth Communication. Marketing Science, 23(4), 545-560. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1040.0071
Health Canada. (2001). Providing the Public with Reliable Health Information: A Key Priority for Health Canada. Healthcare Information Management & Communications Canada, Vol. XV, No.4, 3rd Quarter.
Health Canada. (2005). Office of Health and the Information Highway. Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/pubs/ehealth-esante/
Health Canada (2010). Social Media: Stay Connected. Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/home-accueil/sm- ms/index-eng.php
Internet World Stats. (2009).Usage and Population Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Korp, P. (2006). Health on the Internet: Implications for Health Promotion. Health Education Research, 21(1), 78- 86. doi: 10.1093/her/cyh043
Kreps, G. L., & Neuhauser, L. (2010). New directions in eHealth communication: Opportunities and Challenges. Patient Education and Counseling, 78(3), 329-336. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.01.013
Latimer, A. E., Salovey, P., & Rothman, A. J. (2007). The Effectiveness of Gain-Framed Messages for Encouraging Disease Prevention Behavior: Is All Hope Lost? Journal of Health Communication, 12(7):645-649.
Landro, L. (2006). The Informed Patient: Social Networking Comes to Health Care; Online Tools Give Patients Better Access to Information and Help Build Communities. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/ articles/SB116717686202159961
Mangunkusumo, R. T., Brug, J., Duisterhout, J. S., de Kon- in, H. J., & Raat, H. (2007). Feasibility, acceptability, and quality of Internet-administered adolescent health promotion in a preventive-care setting. Health Education Research, 22(1):1-13. doi: 10.1093/her/cyl010
Manhattan Research, LLC. (2009). Physician Online Communities: Physician Social Networking and the New Online Opinion Leaders. Retrieved from http://www.manhattanresearch.com/products/Research_Modules/Physician/physician-online- communities.aspx
Marketing Charts. (2009). Social Networking’s Explosive Growth to Plateau in Five Years, Watershed Publishing. Retrieved from www.marketingcharts.com
McKenzie, J. F., Neiger, B. L., & Thackeray, R. (2009). Planning, Implementing, & Evaluating Health Promotion Programs. United States: Benjamin Cummings.
Neuhauser, L., & Kreps, G. L. (2003). Rethinking Communication in the E-health Era. Journal of Health Psychology, 8(1): 7-23.
Ostrow, A. (2009). Mashable: The Social Media Guide. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/
Ottawa Health Decision Centre. (2009). Patient Decision Aids. Ottawa Health Research Institute. Retrieved from http://decisionaid.ohri.ca/index.html
Pew Research Center. (2009). The Shared Search for Health Information on the Internet, Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2009). Stay informed, stay connected! Mobile and Social Media Tools. Retrieved from http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/sm-ms/index-eng.php
Rubel, S. (2009). Twitter is Peaking; Get Ready to Follow the Geeks Onward. Advertising Age, Communication and Mass Media Complete, 80(13), 15
Thomas, R. K. (2006). Health Communication: Traditional Approaches to Health Communication, Chapter 9, pg. 119- 131. doi: 10.1007/0-387-26116-8_9
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. (2007). Government of Canada, Chief Information Officer Branch. Retrieved from www.tbs-sct.gc.ca
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2010). Social Media, Flu.com Know what to do about the flu. Retrieved from www.flu.gov
U.S. Preventive Medicine. (2008). Retrieved from http:// www.uspreventivemedicine.com
White, C., Plotnick, L., Kushma, J., Hiltz, S. R., & Turoff, M. (2009). An Online Social Network for Emergency Management. 6th International ISCRAM Conference.
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