Uses of Social Media Within Healthcare

Social media is ubiquitous in our current culture.  There are many uses for social media with different types of content posted across the various platforms.  Social media is also used by numerous types of businesses for promotion, marketing, sales, and engagement with their target audience.  How is social media used specifically within healthcare practices and related businesses? 

In order to provide evidence regarding the uses of social media for health-related objectives, Chen and Wang (2021) conducted a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature between 2006 and 2020.  They included 544 articles and noted that the number of publications per year increased with each subsequent year in the study.  In total, they classified ten uses of social media for health reasons and categorized these into three distinct groups.  The three groups were health institutions, health researchers and professionals, and the public.

They defined health institutions as governmental and nongovernmental agencies focused on health, most notably the World Health Organization.  Within this category, the uses of social media included “infoveillance”, defined as monitoring and analyzing information on the internet to inform public health and related policies.  Other uses within this category were promoting health information and addressing misinformation, education regarding health-related interventions, and mobilization of social resources to advance health issues.  The most common uses in this category were for education related to interventions in 168 articles, followed by “infoveillance” in 94, promoting health information in 76, and resource mobilization in 7.

The second category of use of social media for health-related reasons was by researchers and professionals in the health field.  The uses of social media which were encountered in this category included research purposes such as engaging with patients regarding their specific disease experience or for recruitment into research studies.  A total of 45 articles corresponded to this use.  Professional development purposes were encountered in 34 articles and in 36 the purpose was to foster communication with patients and provide additional services.

The third category which was investigated was public use of social media for health reasons.  Within this category, 108 articles investigated social media for the purpose of sharing health information, 95 were related to online support, and 10 were for monitoring of health status or related activities.

The authors further noted several uses of social media which had emerged within the last 6-7 years of the study.  These included use of social media for research related purposes, mobilizing social resources to advance health issues, and to promote health services.  Areas for future research included promotion of strategic usage of social media for specific audiences, analysis of the impact of social media in health interventions, better delineating health identity, and privacy related issues.

While it is possible that the study did not include all available and employed social media applications for health-related reasons, there is important data provided by the study.  Most notably, within the categories of health institutions and health professionals and researchers there are several different applications of social media that are frequently encountered.  Given the time horizon of the study, it is possible that additional uses of social media for health purposes have emerged. 

The various uses described in this study can be readily applied by healthcare entrepreneurs and professionals alike by first identifying the niche of their business and/or practice and then delineating the specific target audience.  Following completion of these foundational tasks, the appropriate usage of social media for the respective healthcare platform can be more readily determined and developed.

At House Call Media, we provide healthcare professionals and entrepreneurs with clinician created social media management and content development using an evidence-driven philosophy.  This combination of expertise provides healthcare platforms the ability to grow their accounts through the uses of social media for health-related purposes outlined in the study by Chen and Wang and to do so using high quality, current evidence.

Founders: Shelley Kemmerer PA-C and Darin Davidson MD

To learn more, follow us on instagram @house_call_media and frequently visit our website for updates and blogs: www.housecallmedia.com

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REFERENCE:

Chen J, Wang Y.  Social Media Use for Health Purposes: Systematic Review.  J Med Internet Res 2021; 23(5): e17917.