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Social media, knowledge translation, and action on the social determinants of health and health equity: A survey of public health practices
Sume Ndumbe-Eyoha,*, and Agnes Mazzuccob
aNational Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health, Antigonish, NS, Canada.
bToronto, ON, Canada.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract The growth of social media presents opportunities for public health to increase its inuence and impact on the social determinants of health and health equity. The National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health at St. Francis Xavier University conducted a survey during the rst half of 2016 to assess how public health used social media for knowledge translation, relationship building, and specic public health roles to advance health equity. Respondents reported that social media had an important role in public health. Uptake of social media, while relatively high for personal use, was less present in professional settings and varied for different platforms. Over 20 per cent of those surveyed used Twitter or Facebook at least weekly for knowledge exchange. A lesser number used social media for specic health equity action. Opportunities to enhance the use of social media in public health persist. Capacity building and organizational policies that support social media use may help achieve this.
Journal of Public Health Policy (2016) 37, S249S259. doi:10.1057/s41271-016-0042-z
Keywords: public health; social media; knowledge translation; communication; health equity; social determinants of health
The online version of this article is available Open Access
Introduction
The digital age has revolutionized the way people and organizations access information, communicate, and collaborate. Social media, dened as Internet-based tools for developing and sharing content, allow for quick and easy dissemination of information to diverse
2016 The Authors. 0197-5897 Journal of Public Health Policy Vol. 37, S2, S249S259
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Ndumbe-Eyoh and Mazzucco
stakeholders. With billions of people using social media tools around the globe, public health has the potential to increase the depth and breadth of its conversations, engage and build relations in new ways, and improve its impact.
Health organizations use social media as an effective way to expand their reach, foster engagement, and increase access to credible, science-based health messages.1 This creates the opportunity for ongoing dialogue, knowledge exchange,2 and the integration of social media into public health activities.3 Public health can use social media to...