6. How social media is revolutionising the public health sector
Public health is the science of protecting the safety and improving the health of communities through education, policy making and research for injury prevention and control. Along side many others, one of the most fundamental technologies that have emerged to assist healthcare service is social media. Healthcare providers around the globe are utilising online networking channels to build up rapport, establish contact with their patients, answer inquires, perform community outreach and launching public health awareness campaigns that are more effective than ever.
One of the important reasons as to why social media is changing the landscape of public health is its ability to facilitate online/digital communities.These online health communities provide resources, advice and discussions about various health issues, treatments, medication and symptoms.They aren’t designed to replace healthcare professionals but instead are an added tool to help the world proactively manage its healthcare by supplying evidence based information on a wide range of medical and health topics. The nature of these communities enables people to learn, support and connect with others in similar health circumstances. One of the largest health forums available is PatientsLikeMe (PLM). PLM aims to improve the lives of patients through shared real world experiences and outcomes. They have over 300,000 people registered who have entered data for about 2300 diseases/disorders.
Social medias connectedness and ability to spread messages/knowledge across the world has revolutionised the effectiveness of healthcare campaigns. A perfect example of a social media campaign that was so incredibly successful was the ALS ice bucket challenge. This challenge went viral back in 2014. where 17 million people (including celebrities like Bill Gates and George W. Bush) tipped icy water over themselves in a bid to raise funds/awareness for ALS research and patients. Over 400 million people watched these videos 10 billion times; this statistic really demonstrates the reach of this campaign. The challenge raised over 115 million dollars worldwide from which 67 percent of the funds were entitled to research and another 20 percent granted to patient care. The money raised helped identify a new gene associated with the disease which experts say could lead to new treatment possibilities. The ALS ice bucket challenge is one of many that have touched millions of people and I’m sure changed so many lives. It demonstrates how social media can bring people together to help save others. Public health campaigns before social media just didn't have the capacity to impact as many people as they do now.
