Voices of the “99 Percent”: The Role of Online Narrative to Improve Health Care

Abstract

Trauma events are 4 times more prevalent in inmates than in the general public and are associated with increased recidivism and other mental and physical health issues. Inmates (N = 181) with a moderate-to high-risk criminal profile were randomly assigned to either a Transcendental Meditation (TM) program or to a no-treatment control group. Significant reductions in total trauma symptoms in the TM group were found compared with controls.

The use of social media as a tool for stakeholder engagement in health service design and quality improvement: A scoping review

“…57,58,63,69,75,76,78 Privacy settings were a common feature cited in the literature. Twenty-one studies [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][59][60][61][62]67,68,70,72,75,79,81 conducted all their activities on social media platforms that were open to anyone visiting the site, such as open Twitter feeds or Facebook organisational pages. Seven studies 58,63,64,66,71,73,83 only used platforms that were private, with access restricted by password registration, invitation only or similar privacy mechanisms.…”

“…In the included studies, two-way communication models were used in 22 studies, 46,54,[56][57][58][62][63][64][65][66][67][69][70][71][72][73][74][77][78][79][80]83 one-way communication was used in 13 studies [49][50][51][52][53]55,[59][60][61]68,75,81,85 and social listening was used in six studies. [51][52][53][59][60][61] The administrators responsible for managing or curating the social media communications were primarily health organisations (n ¼ 20; 49,54,[56][57][58][62][63][64]…”

“…Social media was used as a tool in government or international health policy/strategy/guidelines development in 13 included studies. 47,54,57,59,60,65,70,71,75,76,79,81,85 Examples of relevant activities include policy makers gathering public response to drafts of health policy through Twitter, 54,60 consumers or organisations using social media to organise and advocate for policy changes, 75,76,81 and organisations using social media platforms as a virtual space in which to conduct discussions and consultations on guidelines or strategy with stakeholders. 57,70,71 Social media was used by health services to gather data from key stakeholders to inform their QI or design activities in 12 included studies.…”

Blogs as Channels for Disseminating Health Technology Innovations

“…Online discussion groups increasingly offer a novel opportunity for individuals to communicate about health issues. The anonymity features of various social media platforms further enhance this communication by providing a safe space for individuals to freely share their health experiences and perceptions while getting feedback similar users, without fear of judgment [ 5 ]. This in turn provides a vital tool for healthcare practitioners to leverage in monitoring and understanding health care needs of the public beyond the confines of a clinic, creating better opportunities to tackle patient-physician gaps [ 5 ].…”

“…The anonymity features of various social media platforms further enhance this communication by providing a safe space for individuals to freely share their health experiences and perceptions while getting feedback similar users, without fear of judgment [ 5 ]. This in turn provides a vital tool for healthcare practitioners to leverage in monitoring and understanding health care needs of the public beyond the confines of a clinic, creating better opportunities to tackle patient-physician gaps [ 5 ]. Collectively, these internet-based platforms are fostering an innovative view of global health that is fundamentally different from traditional methods of reporting public health findings, and hold greater potential for improving population health [ 4 ].…”