Social Media in Occupational Health Nursing: Helpful or Harmful?

Abstract

Background: Social media, an online vehicle for communication and media sharing, is a growing phenomenon in many aspects of everyday life, including health care. We explored the ways occupational health nurses can use social media as a helpful resource as well as identified potential concerns associated with its use. Methods: A review of the literature was conducted between December 1, 2019, and April 10, 2020, using PubMed and Google Scholar. Key search terms included social media, social network, nurse or nursing, occupational health, and online health. Criteria for selection included studies with results on social media within health care, nursing, and/or occupational health. Studies were also included if the health effects of social media were addressed. Six additional studies that had been previously identified by hand searching were included. Findings: These findings support the use of social media in occupational health for encouraging participatory health care among employees. Occupational health nurses can also utilize social media for health information, online health communities, emergency communication, health education workshops, professional connections, and continuing education. However, awareness of safe social media practice is necessary due to the possibility of misinformation and privacy breaches. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Social media can be used for education and communication with employees and is a way to support employees with specific health conditions through participation in online health communities . Occupational health nurses can take advantage of the speed and accessibility of social media to reach large numbers of employees. It is also a useful tool for addressing many health concerns encountered by employees; however, careful sourcing of information, awareness of company policies, and other safe practices can help to ensure it is helpful and not harmful.

Why should we care about social media codes of conduct in healthcare organisations? A systematic literature review

“…Healthcare organisation employees have the right to have personal views but can never really step out of their professional identity in their personal life (Gagnon and Sabus 2015 ). Therefore, privacy continues to be a primary concern for healthcare organisations’ employee conduct (Ahmed et al 2020 ; Comber et al 2021 ; Khan et al 2021 ; Petersen and Lehmann 2018 ; Siegmund 2020 ; Walsh et al 2021 ), and caution must be exercised when employees post opinions or commentary in digital format in a public or private forum.…”

“…Productivity Formulate guidelines and develop a well-defined code of conduct Research article Terrasse et al 2019 Searching for patient data online Report Ahmed et al 2020 Privacy breach Adapt behaviour to the digital world Training Research article Al-Balushi 2020 Shared posts can be permanent. Inappropriate communication with patients Separate personal and employee Commentary El Daouk et al 2020 Organisational policies, best practices on managing social media Research article Ennis-O-Connor and Mannion 2020 Privacy Actively monitor your online identity Identify the goals of the organisation in the use of social media Commentary Ghalavand et al 2020 Create and use suitable codes of conduct so healthcare organisation employees can use social media safely Review article Siegmund 2020 Privacy. False information.…”

İnternet ve Sosyal Medya Kullanımı Gebe Kadınları Nasıl Etkiler?

“…Giderek artan sosyal medya ve internet kaynaklı sağlık müdahaleleri göz önüne alınarak, sağlık profesyonelleri sosyal medyada daha etkin rol almalıdırlar (Payton ve Woo, 2021). Sağlık profesyonelleri sosyal medyanın getirdiği potansiyel risklerin farkında olmalı ancak sosyal medyayı da mesleki gelişim için bir araç olarak kullanabilmelidirler (Siegmund, 2020). • Gebe kadınlarla çalışan sağlık profesyonellerine, internet ve sosyal medya kullanımı hakkında farkındalık sağlar.…”

Assessment of the Association Between Use of WhatsApp for Work-Related Purposes and Levels of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Healthcare Workers from Jazan, Saudi Arabia

“…Recent reports indicate that WhatsApp has been used to facilitate physician-patient communication, 11 health education and awareness, 12 medication adherence, 13 information sharing, and clinical decision making, 14,15 especially in regions with limited healthcare accessibility and during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. 16 Nonetheless, policies to regulate and ensure its safe usage in clinical settings have been developed, 15 including in relation to patient privacy in data sharing (such as x-rays or laboratory results) when communicated via WhatsApp messages.…”

“…Recent reports indicate that WhatsApp has been used to facilitate physician-patient communication, 11 health education and awareness, 12 medication adherence, 13 information sharing, and clinical decision making, 14,15 especially in regions with limited healthcare accessibility and during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. 16 Nonetheless, policies to regulate and ensure its safe usage in clinical settings have been developed, 15 including in relation to patient privacy in data sharing (such as x-rays or laboratory results) when communicated via WhatsApp messages. 17 Additionally, a report published in 2020 indicated that WhatsApp's use in clinical settings violated the European General Data Projection Regulation and the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which encouraged the use of alternative, more secure messaging apps.…”