Online Opinion Leaders in the Health Promotion Digital Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-309
Author(s):  
Joyce Cheah Lynn-Sze ◽  
◽  
Azlina Kamaruddin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public

Health opinion leaders have widely embraced social media for health promotion and public health communication which can make a strong influence on the public decision making. However, despite the growing relevance of public health threats such as infectious diseases, pandemic influenza and natural disasters, research has paid little attention to the qualities of opinion leaders. Moreover, there is limited evidence that public health organisations use social media appropriately to engage in meaningful conversations with audiences. Thus, the aims of the study are to describe principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders to promote health issues, to discuss the strategies of social media used, to explain the opinion leaders’ influence attributes in health decision making and finally to develop a model of online opinion leader in the contemporary health promotion era. Content analysis was conducted on Facebook postings of five selected health opinion leaders. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 10 followers were conducted. The findings of the study revealed that there are three principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders, which are language, interaction and themes. There are three strategies opinion leaders use to influence the public: social connectivity, social support and social consultation. Furthermore, there are five opinion leaders’ attributes that influence the public’s decision making, namely personality, authenticity, trust/credibility, professional knowledge and social position. The model would be beneficial in educating and guiding the current public health opinion leaders in order to establish health and social well-being. Keywords: Online opinion leader, online health communication, public health, two-step flow theory, decision making.

scholarly journals Digital Health Communication Common Agenda 2.0: An Updated Consensus for the Public and Private Sectors to Advance Public Health

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 124S-128S ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Gold ◽  
M. Elaine Auld ◽  
Lorien C. Abroms ◽  
Joseph Smyser ◽  
Elad Yom-Tov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Common Agenda

Despite widespread use of the Internet and social media platforms by the public, there has been little organized exchange of information among the academic, government, and technology sectors about how digital communication technologies can be maximized to improve public health. The second Digital Health Promotion Executive Leadership Summit convened some of the world’s leading thinkers from across these sectors to revisit how communication technology and the evolving social media platforms can be utilized to improve both individual and population health. The Summit focused on digital intelligence, the spread of misinformation, online patient communities, censorship in social media, and emerging global legal frameworks. In addition, Summit participants had an opportunity to review the original “Common Agenda” that emerged and was published after the inaugural Summit and recommend updates regarding the uses of digital technology for advancing the goals of public health. This article reports the outcomes of the Summit discussions and presents the updates that were recommended by Summit participants as the Digital Health Communication Common Agenda 2.0. Several of the assertions underlying the original Common Agenda have been modified, and several new assertions have been added to reflect the recommendations. In addition, a corresponding set of principles and related actions—including a recommendation that an interagency panel of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services be established to focus on digital health communication, with particular attention to social media—have been modified or supplemented.

scholarly journals Staying afloat: community perspectives on health system resilience in the management of pregnancy and childbirth care during floods in Cambodia

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. e002272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dell D Saulnier ◽  
Hom Hean ◽  
Dawin Thol ◽  
Por Ir ◽  
Claudia Hanson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Health System ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pregnancy And Childbirth ◽  
Childbirth Care

IntroductionResilient health systems have the capacity to continue providing health services to meet the community’s diverse health needs following floods. This capacity is related to how the community manages its own health needs and the community and health system’s joined capacities for resilience. Yet little is known about how community participation influences health systems resilience. The purpose of this study was to understand how community management of pregnancy and childbirth care during floods is contributing to the system’s capacity to absorb, adapt or transform as viewed through a framework on health systems resilience.MethodsEight focus group discussions and 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with community members and leaders who experienced pregnancy or childbirth during recent flooding in rural Cambodia. The data were analysed by thematic analysis and discussed in relation to the resilience framework.ResultsThe theme ‘Responsible for the status quo’ reflected the community’s responsibility to find ways to manage pregnancy and childbirth care, when neither the expectations of the health system nor the available benefits changed during floods. The theme was informed by notions on: i) developmental changes, the unpredictable nature of floods and limited support for managing care, ii) how information promoted by the public health system led to a limited decision-making space for pregnancy and childbirth care, iii) a desire for security during floods that outweighed mistrust in the public health system and iv) the limits to the coping strategies that the community prepared in case of flooding.ConclusionsThe community mainly employed absorptive strategies to manage their care during floods, relieving the burden on the health system, yet restricted support and decision-making may risk their capacity. Further involvement in decision-making for care could help improve the health system’s resilience by creating room for the community to adapt and transform when experiencing floods.

scholarly journals Physical Activity and Health Promotion in Esports and Gaming–Discussing Unique Opportunities for an Unprecedented Cultural Phenomenon

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Ketelhut ◽  
Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken ◽  
Patrick Zimmermann ◽  
Claudio R. Nigg
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
All Cause Mortality ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Evidence Based Guidelines ◽  
Health And Well Being

Due to long periods of sedentary behavior, and unhealthy diets gamers and esports players are at risk for numerous chronic diseases and all-cause mortality. Health research has started addressing the public health implications of the esports phenomenon, drawing a bleak picture of this megatrend. However, instead of just highlighting adverse public health implications of this trend, it is recommended to become involved in this phenomenon and positively influence it. Esports has an enormous potential for physical activity and health-promoting efforts, provides a context for broadly disseminating interventions, and offers new ways of gaining access to an often-neglected population. This paper presents: the potential of the esports phenomenon to promote physical activity, health, and well-being in gamers and esports players; the strategic and preventive solutions to ameliorate esports possible adverse health impacts; and the utilization of esports technology (streams, media platforms, exergames, etc.) as an innovative health promotion tool, especially reaching gamers and esports players with attractive and interactive interventions. This is to encourage systematic scientific research so that evidence-based guidelines and intervention strategies involving regular physical activity, healthy diet, and sleep hygiene for esports will be developed. The goal is to promote public health approaches that move toward a better integration of esports and gaming.

scholarly journals A Call for a Public Health Agenda for Social Media Research

10.2196/16661 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. e16661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry Pagoto ◽  
Molly E Waring ◽  
Ran Xu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Health Agenda

Research has revealed both the benefits and harms of social media use, but the public has very little guidance on how best to use social media to maximize the benefits to their health and well-being while minimizing the potential harms. Given that social media is intricately embedded in our lives, and we now have an entire generation of social media natives, the time has come for a public health research agenda to guide not only the public’s use of social media but also the design of social media platforms in ways that improve health and well-being. In this viewpoint we propose such a public health agenda for social media research that is framed around three broad questions: (1) How much social media use is unhealthy and what individual and contextual factors shape that relationship; (2) What are ways social media can be used to improve physical and mental well-being; and (3) How does health (mis)information spread, how does it shape attitudes, beliefs and behavior, and what policies or public health strategies are effective in disseminating legitimate health information while curbing the spread of health misinformation? We also discuss four key challenges that impede progress on this research agenda: negative sentiment about social media among the public and scientific community, a poorly regulated research landscape, poor access to social media data, and the lack of a cohesive academic field. Social media has revolutionized modern communication in ways that bring us closer to a global society, but we currently stand at an inflection point. A public health agenda for social media research will serve as a compass to guide us toward social media becoming a powerful tool for the public good.

Media and Health Communication Campaigns

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Tuba Işık
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Communication Channels ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Promotion Programs ◽  
The Media ◽  
Communication Campaigns ◽  
Health Communication Campaigns

Health communication campaigns are a significant attempt that makes people aware of health risks and aims to inform the public about numerous issues that threaten public health. Media is the totality of communication channels and tools used to collect, store, and convey information or data to the public. Also, the media shape the behavior of the public through advertising and entertainment in the way it uses language and images. Within this framework, media is arguably one of the most utilized and efficient tools in terms of spreading public health messages and endorsing disease prevention. As its name would suggest, health communication campaigns are a vital part of the health promotion programs and strategies. In this sense, the media have many benefits for developing great health communication campaigns. Briefly, the purpose of this chapter is to discuss the use of media in health communication campaigns and campaign processes.

scholarly journals Advancing the Promise of Digital Technology and Social Media to Promote Population Health

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 5S-8S ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Allegrante ◽  
M. Elaine Auld
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
The Public ◽  
School Of Public Health

In June of 2018, the Society for Public Health Education partnered with The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health at College Park, and the Public Good Projects to convene the inaugural Digital Health Promotion Executive Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. We launched the 2018 Summit for several reasons. First, because of the ubiquity of digital technology and reach of social media, it had become apparent to us that the time was right to bring greater focus to the promise that digital technology and social media hold for improving the public’s health. Second, while other forums were discussing uses of mHealth and eHealth, it was clear the public and private sectors were talking within siloes; thus we believed that more needed to be done to catalyze a dialogue among the academic, industry, and government sectors to share their efforts and to examine the opportunities—and challenges—of forging collaborative partnerships in developing and evaluating the next generation of digital information and health communication technologies. And third, we hoped to facilitate a conversation among leaders from each of these sectors that would result in a consensus on a “Common Agenda” for future actions to advance digital health promotion efforts.

scholarly journals The public health response to ‘do-it-yourself’ urbanism

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 68-70
Author(s):  
Shannon L. Sibbald ◽  
Ross Graham ◽  
Jason Gilliland
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Do It Yourself

Greater understanding of the important and complex relationship between the built environment and human health has made ‘healthy places’ a focus of public health and health promotion. While current literature concentrates on creating healthy places through traditional decision-making pathways (namely, municipal land use planning and urban design processes), this paper explores do-it-yourself (DIY) urbanism: a movement circumventing traditional pathways to, arguably, create healthy places and advance social justice. Despite being aligned with several health promotion goals, DIY urbanism interventions are typically illegal and have been categorized as a type of civil disobedience. This is challenging for public health officials who may value DIY urbanism outcomes, but do not necessarily support the means by which it is achieved. Based on the literature, we present a preliminary approach to health promotion decision-making in this area. Public health officials can voice support for DIY urbanism interventions in some instances, but should proceed cautiously.

scholarly journals Social Media Use for Health Communication by the CDC in Mainland China: National Survey Study 2009-2020 (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Runxi Zeng ◽  
Menghan Li
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Popular Science ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
The Public ◽  
Registration Rate ◽  
The Government

BACKGROUND In recent years, public health incidents that pose a serious threat to public life have occurred frequently in China. The use of social media by public health authorities has helped to reduce these threats by increasing effective risk communication between the government and the public. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to reveal how China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses social media to improve three aspects of health communication between the government and the public: adoption, operation, and interaction. METHODS To analyze the 134 CDC government Weibo accounts at the provincial- and prefecture-level administration regions in mainland China, we collected their account data and extracted 1215 Weibo tweets. We also supplemented the data to reveal the overall performance of the CDC’s government Weibo use during the COVID-19 crisis. RESULTS The registration rate of the CDC’s government Weibo accounts increased year by year, and the local authorities registered Weibo accounts before the central government authorities. In total, 29.8% (n=134) of the 450 CDC facilities have registered an account. Among the 134 CDC facilities that have registered Weibo accounts, the registration rate in the eastern region (n=68, 50.7%) was higher than those in the central region (n=30, 22.4%) and the western region (n=36, 26.9%). Nearly 90.0% of these Weibo accounts had official certification, but there were dropouts in the specific operating process. One-third of the accounts have not been updated for more than 1 year, and the number of Weibo followers was polarized, with a maximum and minimum difference of 1 million. The response rate to users’ comments was less than 1%. Emergency information, multimedia content, and original content were more helpful in promoting communication between the government and the public. Such interaction was partially improved during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC updated the daily epidemic situation and provided popular science information for epidemic prevention and control for the public in a timely manner. CONCLUSIONS China’s CDC is using more social media to popularize daily health information and has taken the first step to improve communication between the government and the public. However, equal dialogue, two-way interactions, and effective communication with the public still need improvement.

scholarly journals Social Media Use for Health Communication by the CDC in Mainland China: National Survey Study 2009-2020

10.2196/19470 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. e19470
Author(s):  
Runxi Zeng ◽  
Menghan Li
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Popular Science ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
The Public ◽  
Registration Rate ◽  
The Government

Background In recent years, public health incidents that pose a serious threat to public life have occurred frequently in China. The use of social media by public health authorities has helped to reduce these threats by increasing effective risk communication between the government and the public. Objective The aim of this study is to reveal how China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses social media to improve three aspects of health communication between the government and the public: adoption, operation, and interaction. Methods To analyze the 134 CDC government Weibo accounts at the provincial- and prefecture-level administration regions in mainland China, we collected their account data and extracted 1215 Weibo tweets. We also supplemented the data to reveal the overall performance of the CDC’s government Weibo use during the COVID-19 crisis. Results The registration rate of the CDC’s government Weibo accounts increased year by year, and the local authorities registered Weibo accounts before the central government authorities. In total, 29.8% (n=134) of the 450 CDC facilities have registered an account. Among the 134 CDC facilities that have registered Weibo accounts, the registration rate in the eastern region (n=68, 50.7%) was higher than those in the central region (n=30, 22.4%) and the western region (n=36, 26.9%). Nearly 90.0% of these Weibo accounts had official certification, but there were dropouts in the specific operating process. One-third of the accounts have not been updated for more than 1 year, and the number of Weibo followers was polarized, with a maximum and minimum difference of 1 million. The response rate to users’ comments was less than 1%. Emergency information, multimedia content, and original content were more helpful in promoting communication between the government and the public. Such interaction was partially improved during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC updated the daily epidemic situation and provided popular science information for epidemic prevention and control for the public in a timely manner. Conclusions China’s CDC is using more social media to popularize daily health information and has taken the first step to improve communication between the government and the public. However, equal dialogue, two-way interactions, and effective communication with the public still need improvement.

scholarly journals A Call for a Public Health Agenda for Social Media Research (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry Pagoto ◽  
Molly E Waring ◽  
Ran Xu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Social Media Research ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Health Agenda

UNSTRUCTURED Research has revealed both the benefits and harms of social media use, but the public has very little guidance on how best to use social media to maximize the benefits to their health and well-being while minimizing the potential harms. Given that social media is intricately embedded in our lives, and we now have an entire generation of social media natives, the time has come for a public health research agenda to guide not only the public’s use of social media but also the design of social media platforms in ways that improve health and well-being. In this viewpoint we propose such a public health agenda for social media research that is framed around three broad questions: (1) How much social media use is unhealthy and what individual and contextual factors shape that relationship; (2) What are ways social media can be used to improve physical and mental well-being; and (3) How does health (mis)information spread, how does it shape attitudes, beliefs and behavior, and what policies or public health strategies are effective in disseminating legitimate health information while curbing the spread of health misinformation? We also discuss four key challenges that impede progress on this research agenda: negative sentiment about social media among the public and scientific community, a poorly regulated research landscape, poor access to social media data, and the lack of a cohesive academic field. Social media has revolutionized modern communication in ways that bring us closer to a global society, but we currently stand at an inflection point. A public health agenda for social media research will serve as a compass to guide us toward social media becoming a powerful tool for the public good.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document