‘Using social media to communicate the findings of

Cochrane reviews’

Andre TomlinMD, Minervation Ltd

Aims• Discuss the accessibility and usability of

Cochrane reviews• Consider how to communicate the findings of

Cochrane reviews in a more interesting and engaging way

• Introduce you to (and offer some top tips for using):– Blogs– Social media

André Tomlin

• Information Scientist– NHS (Health Sciences Library, 1994-1998)– University of Oxford (Centre for EBMH, 1998-2002)– Minervation Ltd (Health websites, 2002-present)

• Specialist in:– Website development, social media & blogging– Writing health information for patients and

professionals– Evidence-based health care– Usability testing & user involvement– Multimedia

Minervation

• Oxford University spin-out

• Built over 50 major health websites

• Work in public, private and charity sectors

• Accessible, usable and reliable health websites

Sample clients: • WHO• NICE• Bupa• LifeScan• Cancer Research UK• Equator Network

Sample clients: • WHO• NICE• Bupa• LifeScan• Cancer Research UK• Equator Network

Programme

• Exercise 1

• Blogging

• Exercise 2

• Social media

• National Elf Service

• Conclusions

Questions

• Who is on..?– Facebook– LinkedIn– Twitter

• Who’s written a blog?• Who knows what a #hashtag is?

• Dr Frank Talker

• GP in Bristol

• Big proponent of evidence-based practice

• Loves the Internet and technology

Can you help me keep up to date with the latest research relating to me patients?

“Hey Frank, What do you think of evidence-based

resources like the Cochrane Library?”

On one hand, Cochrane is great, because it’s so systematic and reliable.

But I just don’t have the time to find what I need and read it all. The reviews are really long and technical. I’d love to get short user-friendly updates on my smartphone, like I can with other websites.

Exercise 1: Oral health advice for people with mental illness

This is Jon He has schizophrenia and problems with his teeth Many patients living in Frank’s catchment area have oral heath problems like Jon

This is Jon He has schizophrenia and problems with his teeth Many patients living in Frank’s catchment area have oral heath problems like Jon

She may be the dentist, but I have the cheesier smile!

Who’s he trying to kid! I fixed those dentures myself last year!

I’m delighted! I’ve found a Cochrane review that’s bang on topic!

Khokhar WA, Clifton A, Jones H, Tosh G. Oral health advice for people with serious mental illness. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD008802. DOI: 10.1002/14651858. CD008802.pub2.

What should I do now?

Small group task:• Read the review• Write a short summary on oral health advice for people with severe mental illness• Present your summary in the style of a news report

Oral health advice for people

with severe mental illness

Lessons from exercise 1

• Cochrane reviews often provide no conclusive answer, but it sometimes takes a few minutes to work this out!

• Obviously, users want answers so it’s helpful to provide other relevant evidence to help guide them

• This should be done systematically using an appropriate hierarchy, i.e. Guidelines, SRs, RCTs etc.

• Here’s what the Mental Elf said: http://www.thementalelf.net/publication-types/systematic-review/oral-health-advice-for-people-with-serious-mental-illness/

Blogs

What’s a blogNoun:

A Web site where an individual or group of users record opinions and information on a regular basis.

Verb:

Add new material to a blog: “I love the smell of blogging in the morning”

What’s a blog

• Often a personal viewpoint

• Frequently updated

• Informal tone• Open to debate• Hooked up to

social media

Why bother writing a blog?

• It’s fun and easy• Users like it• Search engines like it• It encourages

interaction• If you don’t, you may

get left behind!

Blogging tools

• Blogger.com• Tumblr.com• Wordpress.com or

Wordpress.org

• Twitterfeed.com

Top tips for blogging

• The right topic• Outstanding brand• Clear lay-friendly

language• Easy to scan• Use tags• Engage with users• Use social media• Keep it lively and fun

Worth a read

• Bad Science• CRUK Science Blog• Science-ish• Trust the Evidence• Evidence-Based Mommy• National Elf Service• The Mental Elf

• Plus lots of Cochrane blogs!

Exercise 2: Physical activity to improve balance in older

people

My gran loves to skateboard, but she’s maybe not typical Many of Frank’s older patients have balance problems and suffer from debilitating falls He wants to find out which specific forms of exercise are most useful

My gran loves to skateboard, but she’s maybe not typical Many of Frank’s older patients have balance problems and suffer from debilitating falls He wants to find out which specific forms of exercise are most useful

He may be the physio, but I’ve got the stethoscope!

Who needs a stethoscope when you have hands like mine!?

Oh great, another Cochrane review!

Howe TE, Rochester L, Neil F, Skelton DA, Ballinger C. Exercise for improving balance in older people. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD004963. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004963.pub3.

What should I do now?

Small group task:• Read the review• Write a short summary on physical activity to improve balance in older people• Present your summary in the style of a news report

Physical activity for older people

Lessons from exercise 2

• It’s hard to make specific recommendations when reviews include a wide range of interventions

• Some reviews have longer abstracts than others!

• Here’s what the Lifestyle Elf said: http://www.thelifestyleelf.net/older-people-need-plenty-of-exercise-and-housework-doesnt-count/

Social media

Platforms• Millions of online health and healthcare

conversations are happening right now• The 3 main platforms are:

Mostly patients & care givers

Mostly professionals

A mix of professionals, patients & care givers

• Social media also includes Google+, MySpace, Ning etc.

Why bother with social media?

• Join in the conversation

• It will happen with you and without you

• It increases:– Awareness of your

work– Traffic to your site– Engagement with your

audience

• 845m active users• 9% of all online visits• 1 in every 5 online page views happens on

Facebook• An average Facebook visit is 23 minutes• Slightly more female users• Average number of friends is 130• Average number of total likes is 80• More than half of people recommend brands

they ‘like’

Facebook architecture

• Wall– Your personal list of activities

• Page– A page about a company, product or topic of

interest

• Group– A collection of pages, discussions and other media

• 127 million active users• An average Twitter visit is 14 minutes• 54% of people use Twitter on their

phone• 36% of Twitter users tweet at least

once a day

Twitter architecture• Tweet

– A single post <140 characters

• Homepage

– Your Twitter homepage (like the Facebook wall)

• Followers

– People who receive your tweets on their homepage

• Connect > Interactions

– Where you engage with your users

• Connect > Mentions

– When people mention you (e.g. @andretomlin) in their tweet

• Hashtag

– Highlighting a topic (e.g. #lovelychap) in their tweet

Twitter tools

• Tweetdeck or Seesmic

• Klout• Tweetreach• Tweetsheet

• 135m registered users• 80% of members from US, India, UK, Brazil,

Canada, France, Netherlands, Australia & Spain • Slightly more male users• Slightly older demographic than Facebook &

Twitter• “Facebook for business”

Top tips for social media

• Establish a presence on all of the relevant platforms

• Choose the best platforms to focus your energy

• Build your brand and your audience

• Follow like-minded people• Plan your posts so they reflect

your brand and niche• Be yourself • Don’t be shy!

It’s out of control!

• Mobile apps such as Flipboard allow users to create their own interactive magazines, with content from social feeds

National Elf Service

National Elf Service

• We’ve been helping health professionals keep up to date with the latest evidence since the late-90s

• Lot’s of projects, e.g.– National Library for Health (Muir Gray)– NHS Evidence (NICE)

• We wanted to create something new that is simple, approachable, highly usable and fun

Users get:• 1 blog each week day• Highlighting a relevant and

reliable piece of research, guidance or policy

• Written in an accessible and engaging way

• Updates that work for them (email, social media, RSS, website etc.)

• Opportunities to discuss the evidence

Our elves are:

• Leading EBM Experts• Health Professionals• Researchers• Information Scientists

We have 8 elves so far

Live:• Dental• Diabetes• Healthy Lifestyle• Learning Disabilities• Mental Health

We have 8 elves so far

In the pipeline:• Commissioning• Skin• Women’s Health

Do you have an elf in you?

andre.tomlin@minervation.com

Conclusions

What have we learnt?• Social media:

– Communicate– Engage– Promote

• Blogs:– Popular– Fun– Cost effective

• Key social media platforms:– Facebook– Twitter– LinkedIn