Anne Moorhead*, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, United Kingdom Track: Research Presentation Topic: The nature and dynamics of social networks in health Presentation Type: Poster presentation Submission Type: Single Presentation Last modified: 2013-09-25

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Background: Social media such as Facebook and Twitter are being used increasingly by members of the general public for communicating on health issues. The function of social media for health communication requires further research as it remains unclear why individuals use social media for health communication. It is unknown why social media are being accessed to obtain health information as opposed to websites including those from professional organizations, as accessed by search engines. It is important to explore social media in health communication as individuals are increasingly using social media.
Objectives: The overall study aim was to evaluate public engagement with social media for health interactions. The study objectives were: 1. to determine the extent of public engagement with social media for health communication; 2. to explore the function of social media for health communication for public engagement. Methods: The research design was both quantitative and qualitative with an exploratory descriptive quantitative survey (online and hard-copy) with 400 members of the general public, followed by three focus groups (20 participants) with social media users. The focus groups were conducted to gain in-depth information exploring the key issues identified from the survey, focusing on the function of social media for health interactions and in particular the reasons the public use social media for interactions. This study received ethical approval for the School of Communication, University of Ulster Risk & Ethics Committee.
Results: The survey found that over the third of the respondents (38%; n=153) self-reported that they use social media for health communication. The purpose of using social media for health communication was mainly for themselves (83%), followed by family member (50%), friend (35%). The main reasons for using social media for health communication were ease of use (n=76; 50%), breadth/variety of information (n=77; 50%), and over a third of the participants reported that they use social media to obtain further information after consulting a health professional. These findings were supported by the data from the focus groups. Social media users in the focus groups reported the main reasons for using social media for health communication was to increase awareness of health topics, access more information, and to provide/receive emotional support. These participants also reported that social media can be used to clarify health symptoms or issues before and after consultations with health professionals. Although there is currently limited interaction with health professionals, the public communicates on social media for personal purposes.
Conclusions: This study provides evidence that social media has potential in providing emotional support for individuals on health issues and in addition, may have the potential for coproduction with support organizations and health professionals. This study indicates distinct communities of practice, as reflected and expands upon the Northouse and Northouse Model of Health Communication. As social media can provide support in addition to traditional methods such as face-to-face consultation, and to increase contexts and transactions by the introduction of a new communication platform, online community. Social media brings a new dimension to healthcare due to increasing transactional communication.