Carl Hanson*, Brigham Young University, Provo, United States James Barrett*, Brigham Young University, Provo, United States Michael Barnes*, Brigham Young University, Provo, United States Joshua West*, Brigham Young University, Provo, United States Track: Research Presentation Topic: The nature and dynamics of social networks in health Presentation Type: Oral presentation Submission Type: Single Presentation Building: LKSC Conference Center Stanford Room: Lower Auditorium 130 Date: 2011-09-18 03:00 PM – 04:30 PM Last modified: 2011-08-15

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Background
Social media applications are often used for the purpose of communication, collaboration, and multimedia sharing and include blogs, microblogging (e.g., Twitter), social networking (e.g., Facebook), wikis (e.g., PBworks), and video sharing applications (e.g., Youtube). These applications have exploded in popularity as they have empowered the lay public to join online conversations. Evidence suggests that health practitioners have become more involved in using social media for health communication purposes. Consequently, health officials are challenged with managing the use of these technologies as staff and clients utilize agency sponsored social media applications. Threats to the agency include but are not limited to legal and other implications of: (1) staff misuse of social media applications, (2) inappropriate material posted on agency sponsored pages, and (3) defamatory or misinformation on agency pages. Threats to clients or users include but are not limited to: (1) accessing harmful material and information, (2) bullying and predation, (3) scare information and paranoia, and (4) misinformation. To avoid the challenges and threats associated with social media, many agencies simply block access to social media applications on work computers. Others have responded by creating detailed use policies. In light of the growing popularity of social media use and its promise for health communication, this presentation will provide a brief overview of the ongoing threats of social media to both individual health and health-promoting agencies, as well as discuss how health officials can mitigate these threats through implementation of social media policy.
Methods
A content analysis of 20 social media policies from health and human service agencies was conducted. Policies were identified from those existing policies that were posted to the online Social Media Governance Policy Database. Only those policies in the database related to healthcare and nonprofit organizations were included in this review. Policies from city, county, state, and federal government were excluded in this review. Policies were coded for common themes based on the major provisions and guidelines identified in the policies. Results
The results revealed that social media policies give attention to both internal (staff) use of social media and external (client) use of the agency sponsored social media sites. Major internal policy provisions address sharing proprietary or client information, professional and respectful online behavior, protecting personal privacy, attention to existing laws, and rules and obligations. Major external policy provisions address agency oversight, online behavior, personal privacy, and commenter responsibilities.
Conclusions
Health and human service agencies are responding to online health threats by establishing internal and external social media policies. Several important provisions and guidelines have been identified as important elements of social media policy.