DIGITAL NETWORKS AND PUBLIC HEALTH: THE INFLUENCE OF “SOCIAL” PROOF
Oral Health FloridaJuly 28th, 2016 Brittany Seymour, DDS, MPHAssistant ProfessorHarvard School of Dental MedicineDepartment of Oral Health Policy and EpidemiologyFaculty Associate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and SocietyDigital Health Communication Consultant, MIT
Today: Visual tour of cyberspace
Why do I do this research?Case studiesFluoridationVaccinesEbolaSo what? Insights gainedNow what? Key theories Take home messages for digital communication strategies
Source: Centers for Disease Control and PreventionGraphic: courtesy of ASPH What is Public Health?
Top 10 Public Health Achievements of the 20th Century
1. Vaccines2. Motor vehicle safety3. Safer workplaces4. Control of infectious diseases5. Decline in deaths for coronary heart disease and
stroke6. Safer and healthier foods7. Healthier mothers and babies8. Family planning9. Fluoridation of drinking water10. Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Story of FluorideCNN, Forbes, Time, USA Today
54,000
Views AndShares AcrossSocial Media
100
Friday, 2/14/14 Monday, 2/16/14Seymour, J Law Med Ethics, 2014
Source: Centers for Disease Control and PreventionGraphic: courtesy of ASPH What is Public Health?
Top 10 Public Health Achievements of the 20th Century
1. Vaccines2. Motor vehicle safety3. Safer workplaces4. Control of infectious diseases5. Decline in deaths for coronary heart disease and
stroke6. Safer and healthier foods7. Healthier mothers and babies8. Family planning9. Fluoridation of drinking water10. Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
*Most were unvaccinated, and several hospitalizations were infantstoo young to be vaccinated
The Story of Vaccines
Preliminary Patterns1 Online information: pretty good2 Social use of that information: not so good3 Disconnect between what people link to
and what they share and talk about
How does this difference in “Internet behavior” impact health beliefs and
behaviors, if at all?
Image source: Goel, et al. The structural virality of online diffusion. 2013
Broadcast vs. Social Diffusion:
So what?
Now what?!
Social Health Communication Strategies
Key theories: Peers over authority/expert Content creation versus consumption Social first, information second Advocacy versus accuracy
Empirical Social Communication Strategies
The question we are asking: “How can we share our evidence-based health messages
with our target audiences?”
The question we should be asking?“How can we influence our target audiences to share our
evidence-based health messages?”
© 2016 by Harvard School of Dental Medicine. All rights reserved. This material contains
unpublished information-not for distribution.
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