Italian Social Marketing Network – Newsletter 153

 


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ObjectivesGiven the degree of public mistrust and provider hesitation regarding the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, it is important to explore how information regarding the vaccine is shared online via social media outlets. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content of messaging regarding the HPV vaccine on the social media and microblogging site Twitter, and describe the sentiment of those messages.Design and SampleThis study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive approach. Over a 2-week period, Twitter content was searched hourly using key terms “#HPV and #Gardasil,” which yielded 1,794 Twitter posts for analysis. Each post was then analyzed individually using an a priori coding strategy and directed content analysis.ResultsThe majority of Twitter posts were written by lay consumers and were sharing commentary about a media source. However, when actual URLs were shared, the most common form of share was linking back to a blog post written by lay users. The vast majority of content was presented as polarizing (either as a positive or negative tweet), with 51% of the Tweets representing a positive viewpoint.ConclusionsUsing Twitter to understand public sentiment offers a novel perspective to explore the context of health communication surrounding certain controversial issues.









Digital Health is a cultural transformation, not just a set of new technologies. Written by e-Patient Dave deBronkart and Dr. Bertalan Meskó. ………………………………………………………………..
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The root problem is that many digital health writers know plenty about apps but nothing about medicine. A secondary problem is a resulting sense that digital health is for idiots: imagine a trusting reader (you?) who goes to a doctor and mentions the article. The doctor concludes that e-health is stupid and the patient is naive….
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It is essential that health and care achieve their potential, which cannot be done based on false understandings. This is why I asked Dave to contribute with his revolutionary ideas and vision. Whenever I saw him speak, there was a standing ovation. If this article helps you see what Dave and I independently observed in our travels despite our completely different backgrounds, we will be grateful.
The use of social media (SM) in healthcare has provided a novel means of communication in line with a more modernised approach to care. For physicians, SM provides opportunities for enhancing professional development, networking, public health, and organisational promotion, among others. For patients, SM provides potential for taking a more active role in health, sharing information, and building virtual communities, especially in the case of chronic and/or rare diseases. SM has the potential to bring patients and physicians closer together, beyond the walls of clinics; however, the interaction between physicians and patients on SM has received mixed feelings, especially from the physicians’ perspective. On the one hand, the potential for a more enhanced, albeit remote, communication has been viewed positively, especially in an era where digital technologies are fast expanding. Conversely, concerns around breaches in professional boundaries and ethical conduct, such as mishandling of patient-sensitive information on these platforms, have fuelled heavy criticism around its use. From this viewpoint, issues arising from the use of SM in healthcare, with a focus on the patient–physician interaction, discussing the potential benefits and pitfalls are covered in this article.