Abstract
The extensive impact of social media on modern society has transformed the landscape of health communication, by introducing novel techniques, strategies, and best practices. This chapter investigates the connection between social media and health communication, researching successful techniques that promote public health and well-being globally. Such an exploration is significant as it investigates the intricate relationship between social media and health communication, exploring successful techniques that promote public health and well-being globally. With enormous users worldwide, digital platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter serve as powerful tools for circulating health information and encouraging community engagement. Social media health communication requires adapting and reshaping content to various audiences, incorporating multimedia formats for convenience, and leveraging influencers to enhance messages. The ability to reach large and diverse demographics in real time enhances the dissemination of preventive measures, health education, and crisis communication.
TopLiterature Review
Social media via different platforms is used very actively by individual entities, health organizations, medical professionals, testing labs, and regulatory bodies in their capacities. The quality and authenticity vary and are a matter of grave concern as the disseminated information is crucial and critical at the same time. The chapter reviews the quality and strategic parameters of social media health communication showcasing both its advantages and disadvantages. We will understand how social media can be used as a strategic advantage for public health enhancement and how these inferior quality issues of misinformation, false information, and authenticity on social media plague society in general through critical evaluation of available trends, examples, and studies. Further, we will introspect on the framework, identification, and address of the positive prospects and problems engrossing the social media health information platforms through academic databases, systematic review, and gap analysis for futuristic research.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Digital Platforms: Online technologies, including social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks.
Community engagement: The process of working collaboratively with community groups to address issues that impact their well-being, often involving communication and interaction through various channels, including social media.
Multimedia Formats: The use of various content forms, such as text, video, images, and audio, often integrated and utilized in social media platforms to enhance message delivery and audience engagement.
Crisis Communication: The methodology of disseminating information during a crisis to provide guidance, reduce uncertainty, and address public concerns, increasingly using social media platforms for timely updates.
Preventive Measures: Strategies or actions taken to reduce the risk of health problems and diseases, frequently communicated through social media to educate and inform the public effectively.
Influencer Engagement: The strategy of using influential individuals on social media, known as influencers, to amplify messages, reach wider audiences, and lend credibility to health communication campaigns.
Health Education: The practice of educating people about health and wellness, including disease prevention, healthy living, and understanding health issues, increasingly through digital and social media channels.