Public Health Messaging in an Era of Social Media

Abstract

Public health organizations have always used messaging to educate the public in an attempt to control the spread of epidemic diseases. Early efforts that relied on word-of-mouth communication and poster campaigns transitioned to radio and television as those technologies emerged, yet these forms of communication likely have become less effective in a crowded, noisy, and confrontational online environment. Over the past decade, emerging digital platforms have become sophisticated, targeted, and responsive in reaching and influencing the public.Widespread physical distancing during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has limited informal social interactions and exposure to signage is considerably lessened as many people limit travel, order products online, and work from home. An effective messaging strategy will require meeting people where they are and through the information networks and devices they use for day-to-day interactions. As of December 27, 2020, more than 80 million people have contracted COVID-19 and 1.7 million have died. The need for effective public health messaging about community spread, prevention measures, and vaccines is more important than ever.Digital platforms are powerful yet underused tools for engaging the public and should be considered essential for public health preparedness, response, and recovery. This Viewpoint explores the following 4 strategies to advance public health messaging during this and future public health emergencies: deploying countermeasures for misinformation, surveillance of digital data to inform messaging, partnering with trusted messengers, and promoting equity through messaging.

Health Information Seeking Behaviors on Social Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among American Social Networking Site Users: Survey Study

“…It has been recently been noted in medical literature that identifying and mitigating misinformation on social media is a growing priority for health professionals [ 4 ]. It has also been pointed out that doing so will require proactive steps, such as “meeting people where they are and through the information networks and devices they use for day-to-day interactions” [ 13 ]. With these goals in mind, it is important for health professionals to understand the propensity of social media users to validate and verify (ie, fact-check) potential misinformation that they encounter on the internet and to understand the types of sources that social media users are turning to for guidance during public health crises.…”

Breastfeeding Communication Strategies, Challenges and Opportunities in the Twitter-Verse: Perspectives of Influencers and Social Network Analysis

“…These influencers may be identified based on their real-time social interactions on social media (e.g., replying, mentioning, or being mentioned on Twitter), instead of assuming influence based on number of followers [3,10,11]. These influencers may provide important insights into what strategies work best when communicating about public health on social mediaan understudied area of research [12]. This paper uses "discussions about breastfeeding on Twitter" as a case study to showcase lessons learned when examining the dynamics of online social networks.…”

Update on social media and otolaryngology: Pertinent positives and definite downsides

“…Research in social media and medicine is difficult and limited thus far. Much of the established body of research looks at the spread of medical misinformation on social media and whether social media can be used to change patient perceptions, knowledge, or behavior 19,20 . A recent review examined the use of social media as a medical education tool for providers 21 .…”

“…Much of the established body of research looks at the spread of medical misinformation on social media and whether social media can be used to change patient perceptions, knowledge, or behavior. 19 , 20 A recent review examined the use of social media as a medical education tool for providers. 21 They review the rise of “knowledge translation” in social media friendly formats like infographics or visual abstracts.…”