Health care & social media

June 2016

Why should we care about social media?

• People of all ages increasingly use social media to communicate

• 8 in 10 UK adults are online

• 98% of 16 - 24 and 25 - 34 year olds are online

• 42% of 65+ are online

• 62% of UK adults use a smartphone

• 66% of UK adults have a current social networking site profile

• Nearly all of these have a Facebook profile but 57% have more than one profile

1 billion accounts 700 million accounts

300 million accounts

288 million accounts

Four important characteristics of social media

Social media typically consists of four characteristics that have changed the way that people and organisations interact:

1. Building community

2. User-generated content

3. Rapid distribution

4. Two-way dialogue

Social media communities

• Social media provides ways for both healthcare workers to connect with one another

• @WeNurses on Twitter is one successful example of nurses sharing information, knowledge & experiences online

Social media communities

Social media provides ways for healthcare workers to connect with one another.

Online communities also provide a way for patients with the same condition to exchange information, get support and access resources.

Online patient-led communities enable the crowd-sourcing of information on managing and treating disease.

This has challenged traditional hierarchies in medicine -doctors/nurses are not the only experts.

Patientslikeme allows patients to meet others

with the same condition, compare symptoms,

treatments & side effects

Patientslikeme allows patients to meet others

with the same condition, compare symptoms,

treatments & side effects

@WeNurses on Twitter is one successful example of nurses

sharing information, knowledge &

experiences online

@WeNurses on Twitter is one successful example of nurses

sharing information, knowledge &

experiences online

User-generated content

Blogs, podcasts, websites and Facebook groupsall allow for users to generate their own content on topics that matter to them.

Podcast created by young adult cancer

charity Shine Cancer Support, deals with topics not usually covered by other

charities (such as sex and dating).

Podcast created by young adult cancer

charity Shine Cancer Support, deals with topics not usually covered by other

charities (such as sex and dating).

Dr. Kate Granger’s blog gave rise to the #Hellomynameis

movement as well as two books.

Dr. Kate Granger’s blog gave rise to the #Hellomynameis

movement as well as two books.

Two-way dialogue

Social media allows organisations and employees to interact with people that they did not typically reach.

It also allows patients, carers and family members to interact with organisations which can otherwise seem difficult to reach.

Both PatientOpinion & NHS Choices allow patients and carers to provide feedback on services as well as get responses from

health organisations. Twitter is increasingly used by NHS Trusts to communicate.

Rapid Distribution

Social media allows for the rapid distribution of information.

This can be particularly useful during healthcare crises, emergencies or natural disasters.

In the US, the Centers for Disease

Control & Prevention used Twitter to

facilitate chats about Ebola risk.

In the US, the Centers for Disease

Control & Prevention used Twitter to

facilitate chats about Ebola risk.

Facebook has a ‘safety check’ feature so that

users can check in with friends/family if they are in an area known to have been affected by an issue

(used widely after the Paris attacks in 2015).

Facebook has a ‘safety check’ feature so that

users can check in with friends/family if they are in an area known to have been affected by an issue

(used widely after the Paris attacks in 2015).

What are you scared of?

Many healthcare organisations and professionals are worried about negative comments, reviews and privacy issues.

In 2012, consultancy PwC tracked the social medial activity of healthcare companies and online communities in the US for a week to develop a ‘snapshot’.

•Despite concerns that social media will solicit negative conversations, the majority (80%) of mentions across all organisation types were neutral.

•Only 5% were negative.

3 benefits of social media

In spite of the perceived challenges, social media can provide the new opportunities for healthcare professionals and organisations to:

Listen: Capture conversations and understand what is happening

• If you don’t know there’s a problem, you can’t fix it. And even if you’re not on social media, the chances are your patients are.

• Listening to conversations online can give you an opportunity to understand what is working well and to let staff know when they’ve done a good job

• It can help you pick up on emerging issues (e.g. broken facilities, perceptions of ward cleanliness etc.)

3 benefits of social media

In spite of the perceived challenges, social media can provide the new opportunities for healthcare professionals and organisations to:

Participate: Publish & promote content and messages

• Social media can be very useful in letting your community know about new services or activities

• Provides an opportunity for you to put out positive stories and news • Allows you to interact with your users in new and fun ways

3 benefits of social media

In spite of the perceived challenges, social media can provide the new opportunities for healthcare professionals and organisations to:

Engage: Interact one-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-many to exchange information or advance a discussion

• You can interact directly with individuals (e.g. Twitter) while forums allow you to exchange information with large numbers of people

• You can facilitate discussions and gain information from your community on issues that matter to them

Help & References

Want to learn more about how to understand and use social media? Check out the references below.

• Knowhownonprofit has pulled together dozens of guides on social media to get you started, whether you’re setting up your first Facebook account or figuring out how to use newer apps like Vine.

• Buffer (a social media management app) has a free Social Media 101 course. You get 7 emails over 7 days and each email takes 2 to 3 minutes to read: https://blog.bufferapp.com/learn-social-media-marketing

• If you’re interested in blogging, check out Wordpress’s Blogging University. Every 14 days you get an assignment that will help you bring a blog to life. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/blogging-university/blogging-fundamentals/

• The Mayo Clinic runs a Social Media Network for people and organisations in healthcare. It’s free to join, with some paid-for resources available: https://socialmedia.mayoclinic.org/

• The Entrepreneur magazine has 10 useful tips for getting started in social media: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217578