Social media has emerged as a great tool for health and
wellness professionals. It allows them to communicate with patients, engage in
collaborative research, and boost their knowledge and reputation. But, it is
not without its limitations. There are also concerns about the potential for
privacy breaches, misinformation, and legal issues. Despite these limitations,
social media can provide an invaluable communication channel for stakeholders
during outbreaks of disease.
However, the true social media benefits have yet to be
pinned down. One study showed that a social media presence can boost the return
on investment for a wellness business. Another found that social media can increase
accessibility to medical care. And another showed that social media can improve
the patient experience, and make people feel more involved in their health
care.
The best thing about social media is that it helps health
and wellness practitioners connect with other professional colleagues. This
type of networking can help to build connections that will lead to future
collaborations and career opportunities. In addition, it may help to mitigate
bad reviews and build a sense of social proof. By making health and wellness
clients feel more involved, it can improve their perceptions of their health
care providers and make the entire experience more positive.
Social media can also be used to deliver real time
intervention messages. Although these messages are not necessarily aimed at the
patient, they can still provide important information and advice. Additionally,
it can be a good source of news about the latest developments in medicine and
research.
Social media can be utilized to promote awareness of certain
health topics and to raise funds for research. Nongovernmental health
organizations use social media as an effective tool to raise awareness of
certain health problems, raise funds for individual medical care, and advocate
for better public policies.
For example, a health organization could share podcasts on
social media. This would allow the group to interact in a way that can't be
achieved with a single conversation. Other possibilities include using social
media to distribute educational content such as videos and health-related
content. Lastly, a health organization can utilize social media to spread the
word about its mission and goals, such as its efforts to address obesity and
smoking.
To explore the best ways to use social media for health and
wellness purposes, researchers performed a literature review. They searched for
peer-reviewed journal articles pertaining to the topic between 2006 and 2020.
After evaluating the results, they identified 10 relevant uses. These included
sharing health-related information and the best one of all: sharing a photo of
your dog.
The most effective social media use for health and wellness
purposes can be classified into four categories: improving communication
between patients and providers, increasing access to health services, boosting
health knowledge, and improving patient engagement. While the above list
doesn't cover every health-related use of social media, it does represent a
cross-section of the most common uses.
