The following guest post is by Jennifer Smock, who is a Graduate Student, Masters of Public Health, at Purdue University as well as Assistant Project Manager, Purdue Homeland Security Institute, and Project Manager, Purdue Emergency Preparedness Office.

For the first time in history, we are able to listen to public’s concerns… well pretty much about everything!

Why is this important?

Major corporations such as Dell, Comcast, Pepsi, IBM, and Microsoft, care greatly about what people are saying on social media sites about their products.  You may have noticed this change in such Microsoft commercials (“Windows 7 was MY idea”), or Best Buy commercials (asking questions to a stadium full of employees).  Both implying they are listening and interacting with people to better serve their needs.  As a result, they have built trust with their consumers and are profiting because of it.

Who uses Twitter anyway?

More and more people every day.  In the fall of 2009, it was found that one in five internet users use Twitter or another service to share updates or to see updates about others, which significantly increased from one in ten in April 2009 (Pew Internet, 2009).  There has been a recent Twitter explosion growing from 2 million Twitter accounts in December of 2008 to 17 million May 2009 resulting in 83% increase, and an astonishing 3,000% increase from a year ago! (ComScore, 2009)

Ok ok… What does this have to do with healthcare?

Before putting out health messages, wouldn’t it be great to better understand what the current barriers and benefits people are already talking about using these informal channels?  This could displace rumors and fine tune messages without the time and effort of focus groups.  For instance, there is a current distrust in the H1N1 vaccine as recognized by the news media:

“Of all the big questions facing our country, there’s one in particular that touches us in an immediate and personal way. It involves the H1N1 flu vaccine … and for many perplexed Americans, the question comes down to this: is the vaccine really a healthy choice? Despite what we’ve heard from public health authorities, some Americans have their doubts.”

-CBS NEWS

In response to the recent change in way clinicians, public health practitioners, and lay-people obtain information, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently introduced utilizing social media outlets to help communicate to the public.  These public health messages promote the seasonal and pandemic flu shots as the best weapon an individual has against contracting the flu.  This integration might have came a little too late.  Recent polls have shown a low rate of compliance with obtaining a flu shot for themselves and for their children.  Even though there has been many public health messages communicating the importance of the flu shot this season, 66% of adults surveyed said they will not receive the H1N1 flu shot, and even though children have an increased risk for complications, 45% of parents said they are not planning to get their child vaccinated (ABC News & Washington Post, 2009).

Bottom Line

The CDC is currently urging those in the healthcare field to integrate social media outlets to communicate to the populations they serve.  Listening and interacting with people will help build trust in all health messages.

Related posts:

1. Poll: Should the H1N1 vaccine be mandatory?
2. In the Air, On the Hill, On the Ground: Which Grade Matters Most?
3. Giving Thanks for $1,000 Flu Shots
4. A Sound She Will Never Forget
5. Health Reform 2009…Angels and Demons

This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.