Effective Use of Social Media in Public Health

1st Edition - May 24, 2023
Editors: Kavita Batra, Manoj Sharma
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 5 6 3 0 - 7
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 5 6 3 1 - 4

Effective use of Social Media in Public Health offers a well-organized and comprehensive review of social media and its impact on people’s lives and the public health sector… Read more

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Effective use of Social Media in Public Health offers a well-organized and comprehensive review of social media and its impact on people’s lives and the public health sector. Divided into sections, the book addresses the growing use (and importance) of social media in conducting and disseminating research findings and covers an array of issues from cyberbullying to diversity and inclusion. Written by health educators and practitioners for health educators and practitioners, this book is a timely resource on the topics discussed.

Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
List of contributors
About the contributors
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Section I. Introduction
Chapter 1. Social media and types with their current applications in public health and healthcare
Social media
Role of social media in public health
COVID-19 and social media publications
Social media and the dangers of misinformation
Types of social media
Social media and public health interventions
Social media and social ecological model
Social media and youth
Ethical issues in social media
Challenges and opportunities of social media
Chapter summary
Questions for discussion
Websites to explore
Key terms—definitions
Chapter 2. Gender and age-specific use of social media
Introduction
Age-specific use of social media
The impact of gender on social media use
Chapter summary
Discussion questions
Definition of key terms
Websites to explore
Section II. Social media use and mental health outcomes in diverse populations
Chapter 3. Social media and young adults
Social media and young adults
Key terms defined
Mental health and counseling trends and issues
Summary
Questions for discussion
Website to explore
Activity for the reader
Key terms used in the chapter
Chapter 4. Social media: utility versus addiction
Introduction
Prevalence of social media use
Social media during the COVID-19 pandemic
The epigenetic effect is a future concern
Addiction to social media
The theoretical basis of social media addiction
Summary
Conclusion
Questions
Definition of key terms
Website to explore
Popular social networking websites/applications
Chapter 5. Social media use among older adults and their challenges
Introduction
Growing older population and its consequences
Role of social support and social connectedness
Social media
Research-based evidence of benefits of social media usage among older adults
Policy approaches to increase social connectedness
Challenges associated with social media for older adults
Summary
Conclusion
Questions
Definition of key terms
Websites to explore
Chapter 6. Social media, diversity, equity, and inclusion
Identifying diversity, equity, and inclusion
How does health equity, diversity, and inclusion affect mental health?
Barriers to mental health service utilization
Linking social media, mental health, and diversity equity and inclusion
Implications for public health practice
Chapter summary
Definition of key terms
Review or discussion questions
Websites to explore
Section III. Social media and global exposure to research
Chapter 7. Ethical, privacy, and confidentiality issues in the use and application of social media
Social media and its varied applications
Role of ethics in social media usage
Role of privacy in social media usage
Case study questions
Case study questions
Role of confidentiality in social media usage
Review of literature
Confidentiality
Can ethics and confidentiality Coexist?
Application of privacy and confidentiality in public health studies using social media
Chapter summary
Questions for discussion
Important terms defined
Websites to explore
Chapter 8. Applications of social media research in quantitative and mixed methods research
Introduction
Applications of social media research
Engagement (likes, comments, and reposting)
Reach (followers, friends of friends, viral, and influencers)
Motivations for posting
Change over time
Experimental
Real-time
Self-report vs. actual content
Social media use measures
Challenges for quantitative and mixed methods research
Future directions for quantitative and mixed methods social media research
Conclusion
Questions for discussion
Websites to explore
Definition of key terms
Chapter 9. Applications of social media in qualitative research in diverse public health areas
Introduction
Social media and qualitative research
Methods/tools
Applications of social media in diverse public health areas
Application of social media by health care professionals
Social media and public
Social media and public health organizations
Pitfalls of social media
Guidelines for ethical use of social media in public health
Conclusions and future directions
Questions for discussion
Websites to explore
Key terms
Chapter 10. Role of social media in research publicity and visibility
Introduction
Novel publication metric trends
Using social media for health information
Social media as dissemination avenues
Visual abstracts
Challenges and advantages of disseminating research on social media
Effect of social media on health outcomes in spite of research findings
Linking health literacy and media literacy
Engaging policy makers through social media
Disseminating research on social media and the rise of enterprise social media
Implications for public health practice
Conclusions
Chapter summary
Definition of key terms
Review or discussion questions
Websites to explore
Section IV. Social media, public health communication, and pedagogy
Chapter 11. Social media and policy campaigns
Introduction
Overview of social media in advocacy and policy change
Examples of use
Public opinion
Future directions
Conclusions
Questions
Websites to explore
Definitions of key terms
Chapter 12. Social media and Infodemiology—use of social media monitoring in emergency preparedness
Introduction
Information Epidemiology or Infodemiology
Uses of Infodemiology on historical context
Research landscape of Infodemiology
The expanded framework of Infodemiology
Social media and the COVID-19 pandemic
Infodemic: A new front of challenge in the COVID-19 battle (mis vs. dis vs. mal)
Fake news triangle and meta-framework of fake news impact
COVID-19: A pandemic of publications
“Infodemic knowledge” and public health at risk
Social media: A double-edged sword
Efforts to combat “infodemic”
Strategies to flatten the “Infodemic curve”
Conclusions and future directions
Questions for discussion
Websites to explore and a list of credible sources
Key terms with definitions
Chapter 13. Social media, online learning, and its application in public health
Social media
Health communication
Health equity guiding principles for inclusive communication
Skill building discussion questions activity
Social marketing and public health
Health promotion, prevention, and psychosocial health
Chapter summary
Chapter key terms
Chapter review questions
Websites to explore to learn more
American public health association
Texthelp
Section V. Social media in healthcare
Chapter 14. Application of social media in designing and implementing effective healthcare programs
Introduction
Role of social media in healthcare
Role of social media in health promotion
Role of social media in circulating health facts and ceasing the wrong information
Role of social media in research
Role of social media in professional development
Role of social media in improving doctor–patient communication and health services
Popular social media platforms for doctors
Benefits of using social media by healthcare professionals
Professional recommendations for using social media
Limitations and challenges
Conclusions
Chapter summary
Questions for discussion
Websites to explore and a list of credible sources
Definition of key terms
Chapter 15. Role of social media in telemedicine
Telemedicine
Social media
Social media in healthcare
Role of smartphones in using social media in health
Use of social media in telemedicine
Guidelines for social media use in telemedicine
Use of social media by different specialties/branches in healthcare
Different uses of social media in healthcare
mHealth and telemedicine
Telemedicine, social media, and curriculum
Telepharmacy
Positive and negative points of using social media in telemedicine
Recommendations for using social media in telemedicine
Summary
Questions for discussion
Websites to explore
Section VI. Epilogue
Chapter 16. Innovative uses of social media in public health and future applications
The growing use of social media among public health and healthcare professionals
The upward trend of the use of social media in public health research
Social media and crowdsourcing
Artificial intelligence and social media
Rise in the use of social media in teaching, training, and workforce development of public health and healthcare professionals
Increasing use of social media in disease surveillance
Rising use of social media in public health campaigns and messaging
Greater use of social media by local health departments
Social media surveillance in K-12 settings
Counteracting threats from the use of social media
Expanding the use of social media for health education and health promotion interventions
Use of social media for equity and social justice
Use of social media for quality assessment and safety of healthcare services
Use of social media in policy change interventions
Conclusion
Index

Kavita Batra

Dr. Kavita Batra, PhD, MPH, BDS, FRSPH, serves as an Assistant Professor and Senior Biostatistician with the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. Dr. Batra began her career as a dental surgeon in India and received her master’s and doctorate degrees in public health from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA. As the co-vice chair of the research seminar planning committee for the office of research and director of internal medicine resident research within the school of medicine, Dr. Batra provides statistical and research mentoring to faculty, residents, fellows, and medical students. Her research interests include, but are not limited to, maternal and child health, COVID-19, social determinants of health, vaccine hesitancy, clinical research, and evidence synthesis. Dr. Batra has published multiple peer-reviewed articles and presented her work at several state, national, and international public health conferences. She has an extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative research. Dr. Batra serves on the topical advisory panel and editorial boards of several journals, including Annals of Epidemiology, Psychiatric Case Reports, Dentistry Journal, Vaccines, and Healthcare. Dr. Batra is a President-elect to the Delta Omega-Delta Theta Chapter at UNLV, a Grad Alumni Ambassador, a key member to the Sexual Misconduct Taskforce, Nevada System of Higher Education, and a statewide secretory to the Nevada Public Health Association.

Affiliations and expertise

Assistant Professor and Senior Biostatistician, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Manoj Sharma

Manoj Sharma, MBBS, Ph.D., MCHES® is a public health physician and educator with a medical degree from the University of Delhi and a doctorate in Preventive Medicine from The Ohio State University. He is also a Master Certified Health Education Specialist certified by the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing. He is currently a tenured Full Professor of Public Health and Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He served as the past Founding Chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Health at UNLV. In his career, spanning over 40 years, he has trained/taught over 6,000 health professionals. He has designed and taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in health behavior, health education, and health promotion at 13 national and international universities working full-time or part-time. He has worked and provided leadership for local health departments, state health departments/agencies, federal government agencies, non-profit agencies, professional organizations, and international agencies including governments of other nations. He has been invited as a keynote presenter at several universities. He is a prolific researcher and as of March 2025 has published 17 books, over 425 peer-reviewed research articles, and over 500 other publications (h-index 60, i-10 index over 250, and over 20,000 citations) and secured funding for over $10 million. He has been awarded several prestigious honors including the American Public Health Association’s Lyndon Haviland Mentoring Award, PHEHP Distinguished Career Award, ICTHP Impact Award, J. Mayhew Derryberry Award, ATOD Lifetime Achievement Award, Cancer Forum’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award and William R. Gemma Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Public Health Alumni Society and Alumni Achievement Award from the College of Medicine at the Ohio State University among others. His research interests are in developing and evaluating theory-based (evidence-based) health behavior change interventions, obesity prevention, mental health, stress-coping, community-based participatory research/evaluation, and integrative mind-body-spirit interventions.

Affiliations and expertise

Social & Behavioral Health, & Internal Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, United States

Life Sciences

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Social Sciences & Humanities

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