Tweeting about #Diseases and #Publichealth: Communicating Global Health Issues across Nations

Guidry, Jeanine P.D.; Meganck, Shana; Lovari, Alessandro; Messner, Marcus; Medina-Messner, Vivian; Sherman, Scott E.; Adams, Jay

doi:10.1080/10410236.2019.1620089

Cited by 37 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Another potential explanation is that hyperlinks direct people to another webpage, at which point they may forget about the original message. Second, in contrast with previous reports supporting the positive effect of media on public engagement [49][50][51][52], we found that the inclusion of multimedia content (eg, photographs and videos) was negatively associated with public engagement. This finding is similar to that of Chen et al [53], who also found that media richness was negatively associated with public engagement with government social media during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Principal Findingscontrasting

confidence: 99%

The Saudi Ministry of Health’s Twitter Communication Strategies and Public Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Content Analysis Study

Alhassan¹,

AlDossary²

2021

JMIR Public Health Surveill

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Background During a public health crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, governments and health authorities need quick and accurate methods of communicating with the public. While social media can serve as a useful tool for effective communication during disease outbreaks, few studies have elucidated how these platforms are used by the Ministry of Health (MOH) during disease outbreaks in Saudi Arabia. Objective Guided by the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication model, this study aimed to explore the MOH’s use of Twitter and the public’s engagement during different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Methods Tweets and corresponding likes and retweets were extracted from the official Twitter account of the MOH in Saudi Arabia for the period of January 1 through August 31, 2020. Tweets related to COVID-19 were identified; subsequently, content analysis was performed, in which tweets were coded for the following message types: risk messages, warnings, preparations, uncertainty reduction, efficacy, reassurance, and digital health responses. Public engagement was measured by examining the numbers of likes and retweets. The association between outbreak stages and types of messages was assessed, as well as the effect of these messages on public engagement. Results The MOH posted a total of 1393 original tweets during the study period. Of the total tweets, 1293 (92.82%) were related to COVID-19, and 1217 were ultimately included in the analysis. The MOH posted the majority of its tweets (65.89%) during the initial stage of the outbreak. Accordingly, the public showed the highest level of engagement (as indicated by numbers of likes and retweets) during the initial stage. The types of messages sent by the MOH significantly differed across outbreak stages, with messages related to uncertainty reduction, reassurance, and efficacy being prevalent among all stages. Tweet content, media type, and crisis stage influenced the level of public engagement. Engagement was negatively associated with the inclusion of hyperlinks and multimedia files, while higher level of public engagement was associated with the use of hashtags. Tweets related to warnings, uncertainty reduction, and reassurance received high levels of public engagement. Conclusions This study provides insights into the Saudi MOH’s communication strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results have implications for researchers, governments, health organizations, and practitioners with regard to their communication practices during outbreaks. To increase public engagement, governments and health authorities should consider the public’s need for information. This, in turn, could raise public awareness regarding disease outbreaks.

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Section: Principal Findingscontrasting

confidence: 99%

The Saudi Ministry of Health’s Twitter Communication Strategies and Public Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Content Analysis Study

Alhassan¹,

AlDossary²

2021

JMIR Public Health Surveill

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“…Studies conducted on public health agencies’ communication in the context of prior public health crises have addressed how these agencies have used social media platforms (e.g., Guidry et al, 2017; Guidry et al, 2020; Ophir, 2019; Walton et al, 2012) or print media (e.g., Mebane et al, 2003), and how they responded to media inquiries (e.g., Robinson & Newstetter, 2003) or monitored communication from news outlets (e.g., Prue et al, 2003). Other research has focused on social media posts directed by the general public to public health agencies such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Crook et al, 2016), or has examined the public’s awareness of, trust in, and compliance with these agencies (e.g., Chon & Park, 2019; Kowitt et al, 2017).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Perspectives on COVID-19 Communication Ecologies: Public Health Agencies’ Online Communication in Italy, Sweden, and the United States

Tagliacozzo

Albrecht

Ganapati

2021

American Behavioral Scientist

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Communicating during a crisis can be challenging for public agencies as their communication ecology becomes increasingly complex while the need for fast and reliable public communication remains high. Using the lens of communication ecology, this study examines the online communication of national public health agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Sweden, and the United States. Based on content analysis of Twitter data ( n = 856) and agency press releases ( n = 95), this article investigates two main questions: (1) How, and to what extent, did national public health agencies coordinate their online communication with other agencies and organizations? (2) How was online communication from the agencies diversified in terms of targeting specific organizations and social groups? Our findings indicate that public health agencies relied heavily on internal scientific expertise and predominately coordinated their communication efforts with national government agencies. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that agencies in each country differed in how they diversify information; however, all agencies provided tailored information to at least some organizations and social groups. Across the three countries, information tailored for several vulnerable groups (e.g., pregnant women, people with disabilities, immigrants, and homeless populations) was largely absent, which may contribute to negative consequences for these groups.

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“…Other studies have explored the role of hashtags in bringing together and coordinating communities with a shared interest in a specific event or topic (Bruns & Burgess, 2015). Social media has also been used to track health communication strategies concerning health promotion and disease prevention (Guidry et al, 2019). Yet, the concept of medicalization on social media has scarcely been addressed.…”

Section: Medicalization On Social Media: the Case Of Orthorexia Nervosa On Twittermentioning

confidence: 99%

“When Are We Going to Hold Orthorexia to the Same Standard as Anorexia and Bulimia?” Exploring the Medicalization Process of Orthorexia Nervosa on Twitter

Valente

Cesuroğlu

Labrie

et al. 2021

Health Communication

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This study contributes to understanding medicalization on social media, by using Conrad's concept of medicalization as a theoretical framework to explore the conversation about Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) on Twitter. The aim of this mixed-methods study was twofold: the quantitative component aimed to provide descriptive information on the type of tweets and users, as well as on the network structure of the ONrelated conversation on Twitter, while the qualitative component aimed to explore how the medicalization of ON unfolds on Twitter by performing a thematic analysis of original tweets about ON. Quantitative descriptive findings show that the most popular hashtags associated with orthorexia include #rdchat, #psychology and #doctors, which hints to a link between discourses around ON and the medical profession. Among the most active, prominent and visible users are news accounts, a registered dietitian, a researcher, a professor and an editor. Qualitative thematic analysis shed light on the discursive process of medicalization. Some users bring about medicalization by approaching ON as a medical entity; in contrast, other users resist medicalization by describing ON as a social phenomenon. A discursive struggle emerges, where certain individuals feel confused around what constitutes ON. This leads to stigmatization of non-traditional diets like veganism, which in turn triggers complaints regarding over-medicalization. As the first Twitter investigation on ON, this study serves the purpose of providing insights into how an emerging disorder develops in society in a time of social media.

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Tweeting about #Diseases and #Publichealth: Communicating Global Health Issues across Nations

Cited by 37 publications

References 29 publications

The Saudi Ministry of Health’s Twitter Communication Strategies and Public Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Content Analysis Study

The Saudi Ministry of Health’s Twitter Communication Strategies and Public Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Content Analysis Study

International Perspectives on COVID-19 Communication Ecologies: Public Health Agencies’ Online Communication in Italy, Sweden, and the United States

“When Are We Going to Hold Orthorexia to the Same Standard as Anorexia and Bulimia?” Exploring the Medicalization Process of Orthorexia Nervosa on Twitter

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