Social Media Campaigns in Healthcare

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A social media campaign is a set of initiatives aimed at addressing topical objectives and tasks associated with specific social or health issues through the involvement of online platforms as the main communication platforms. According to Stellefson et al. (2020), in relation to the health sector, such campaigns “require health education specialists to utilize planning and evaluation skills to effectively assess the use of social media” (p. 1153). In other words, these initiatives are designed to promote mechanisms for engaging the target audience through a virtual environment to address urgent problems, for instance, bad habits or harmful health factors.

One of the main advantages of social media campaigns is the convenient involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. Due to free access to the Internet, people have an opportunity to interact online and deliver the necessary messages both individually and to the whole community in special groups. As Mehmet et al. (2020) state, these campaigns involve ordinary citizens, clinicians, service planners, and other interested parties to make interventions as effective as possible. In addition, each member is alerted immediately, which speeds up any initiative. Nevertheless, social media campaigns may have some disadvantages, which mainly relate to participants’ behavior. İlgün and Uğurluoğlu (2018) note that ethical issues arise, such as breaches of confidentiality, as well as difficulty in controlling the behavior of the target population in real life. However, these disadvantages are compensated for by the speed of communication and the ease of involving participants.

In the public health sector, social media campaigns are gaining in popularity due to the ease of implementation of such projects. As Gough et al. (2017), healthcare organizations often have a limited budget and resource base, making online interactions the most financially beneficial communication mode. Organizers involved draw up a work plan, wanting to focus on a specific issue and resorting to segmentation as the main strategy for engaging the target audience. A specific task is posed, for instance, to combat a physical or mental disorder or reduce bad habits among the population by changing patient behavior. According to Jane et al. (2018), if successfully implemented, the outcomes of these campaigns imply creating an enabling environment for the members involved to overcome specific challenges or reduce risk factors. The authors mention smoking cessation programs and argue that, through social media, campaigners can stimulate changes in the behavior of the target group and alter the perception of this bad habit (Jane et al., 2018). As a result, the competent use of online resources has a positive effect on public health and helps unite target groups to overcome relevant risks and threats.

The methods of evaluating social media campaigns involve analyzing such significant criteria as sustainability, long-term effectiveness, and the relevance of the issue raised. According to Januraga et al. (2020), one of the main principles of assessment is the collection of data from the target audience. The authors note that “by exploring participants’ perceptions and experiences in accessing and utilizing online campaign platforms,” organizers can receive valuable feedback and make necessary changes later if necessary (p. s99). The problem with this approach may lie in the individual bias of target members and their subjectivity regarding participation. Evans et al. (2017) suggest compiling questionnaires as assessment tools, and the potential subjectivity of the outcomes of the analysis can also appear with this approach. A more efficient method is to count active participants after the implementation of a particular corresponding program. In their research, Januraga et al. (2020) note that, after effective work, the target audience can expand significantly. With this end result, a campaign is judged to be effective and successful.

To address the effects of COVID-19, social media campaigns may be utilized as projects aimed at improving public health indicators and reducing morbidity risks. Globally, the most common form of work in this direction is the delivery of preventive action messages, and Tsoy et al. (2021) give an example of the global “Stay at Home” campaign. The value of using online platforms lies in the fact that “social media metrics can show the real results of promoted campaigns such as engagement, conversion, response rate, and reach” (Tsoy et al., 2021, p. 36). As a result, healthcare providers can measure how effective their campaigns are, which, in turn, allows them to predict the pace of the fight against the coronavirus infection and plan additional interventions if needed. Al-Dmour et al. (2020) confirm that, on a global scale, social media campaigns are aimed at awareness building because statistics in each region are unique and may require distinctive approaches to public health improvement. Thus, the involvement of online resources to combat COVID-19 is mainly based on the education of the population.

In Saudi Arabia, the principles and goals of social media campaigns to combat COVID-19 are similar to those in the world. Hassounah et al. (2020) provide examples of several projects at different stages of the pandemic, and their main purpose is to educate the population and deliver the necessary information about the rules of safe communication. The authors mention “Kollona Masool” and “Naoodo bi Hathar” as such projects (Hassounah et al., 2020). Due to the developed system of public health in Saudi Arabia, the country uses all possible resources, and lifting the lockdown is a logical consequence of focused work.

In view of the focus of modern public health on the fight against COVID-19 as a major global threat, the vast majority of research on social media campaigns addresses this topic. For instance, Levinger and Hill (2020) consider the resources that countries spend on such projects and assess the problem of physical activity during the pandemic and lockdown. Herrera-Peco et al. (2021) evaluate the role of social media campaigns to promote vaccination as a means of fighting against COVID-19. The authors assess healthcare professionals’ activities on Twitter and examine how the promotion of vaccination influences the morbidity rate in Spain (Herrera-Peco et al., 2021). However, the coronavirus infection is not the only global health problem. Vraga et al. (2018) review the effectiveness of online work in the fight against various forms of cancer and analyze which projects on Instagram and Twitter are the most effective. Thus, many existing studies examining social media campaigns in public health focus on COVID-19, although other issues are also addressed.

Stakeholder engagement in social media campaigns is based on the principle of raising the issue and targeted work to change the behavior of the target audience. Graffigna et al. (2020) research the specifics of involving Italian citizens in a project aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus infection and argue that assessments of psychological and motivational factors play a critical role in the engagement process. In addition to physicians interested in reducing the rate of morbidity, the public should accept the idea of the relevance of participating in such projects. Therefore, the focus on behavior change should be based on participants’ individual motives and perceptions of the problem. Otherwise, social media campaigns will not be effective in the long term, which is unacceptable in the current pandemic.

References

Al-Dmour, H., Salman, A., Abuhashesh, M., & Al-Dmour, R. (2020). Influence of social media platforms on public health protection against the COVID-19 pandemic via the mediating effects of public health awareness and behavioral changes: Integrated model. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(8), e19996. Web.

Evans, W., Andrade, E., Goldmeer, S., Smith, M., Snider, J., & Girardo, G. (2017). The living the example social media substance use prevention program: A pilot evaluation. JMIR Mental Health, 4(2), e24. Web.

Gough, A., Hunter, R. F., Ajao, O., Jurek, A., McKeown, G., Hong, J., Barrett, E., Ferguson, M., McElwee, G., McCarthy, M., & Kee, F. (2017). Tweet for behavior change: Using social media for the dissemination of public health messages. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 3(1), e6313. Web.

Graffigna, G., Bosio, C., Savarese, M., Barello, M., & Barello, S. (2020). “# I-Am-Engaged”: Conceptualization and first implementation of a multi-actor participatory, co-designed social media campaign to raise Italians citizens’ engagement in preventing the spread of COVID-19 virus. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2428. Web.

Hassounah, M., Raheel, H., & Alhefzi, M. (2020). Digital response during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9), e19338. Web.

Herrera-Peco, I., Jiménez-Gómez, B., Peña Deudero, J. J., Benitez De Gracia, E., & Ruiz-Núñez, C. (2021). Healthcare professionals’ role in social media public health campaigns: Analysis of Spanish pro vaccination campaign on Twitter. Healthcare, 9(6), 662. Web.

İlgün, G., & Uğurluoğlu, Ö. (2018). How Turkish private hospitals use social media: A qualitative study. Journal of Social Service Research, 45(1), 34-43. Web.

Jane, M., Hagger, M., Foster, J., Ho, S., & Pal, S. (2018). Social media for health promotion and weight management: A critical debate. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 1-7. Web.

Januraga, P. P., Izwardi, D., Crosita, Y., Indrayathi, P. A., Kurniasari, E., Sutrisna, A., & Tumilowicz, A. (2020). Qualitative evaluation of a social media campaign to improve healthy food habits among urban adolescent females in Indonesia. Public Health Nutrition, 24(S2), s98-s107. Web.

Levinger, P., & Hill, K. D. (2020). The impact of mass media campaigns on physical activity participation on a global scale: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 17(9), 857-858. Web.

Mehmet, M., Roberts, R., & Nayeem, T. (2020). Using digital and social media for health promotion: A social marketing approach for addressing co‐morbid physical and mental health. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 28(2), 149-158. Web.

Stellefson, M., Paige, S. R., Chaney, B. H., & Chaney, J. D. (2020). Evolving role of social media in health promotion: Updated responsibilities for health education specialists. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(4), 1153. Web.

Tsoy, D., Tirasawasdichai, T., & Kurpayanidi, K. I. (2021). Role of social media in shaping public risk perception during COVID-19 pandemic: A theoretical review. International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, 7(2), 35-41. Web.

Vraga, E. K., Stefanidis, A., Lamprianidis, G., Croitoru, A., Crooks, A. T., Delamater, P. L., Pfoser, D., Radzikowski, J. R., & Jacobsen, K. H. (2018). Cancer and social media: A comparison of traffic about breast cancer, prostate cancer, and other reproductive cancers on Twitter and Instagram. Journal of Health Communication, 23(2), 181-189. Web.

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Social Media Campaigns in Healthcare

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