Social media in health--what are the safety concerns for health consumers?
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This document discusses the safety concerns associated with social media in the context of health consumers, highlighting issues such as harmful content, public display of unhealthy behaviors, and the psychological impact of inappropriate material. It emphasizes the need for health authorities to address the distortions public policy can face from social media influences and suggests ways to enhance safety in social media use for health information. The authors call for regulatory measures and education to empower consumers and promote responsible content creation.
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Social media in health--what are the safety concerns for health consumers?
- 1. Social Media in Health – What are the Safety Concerns for Health Consumers? Annie Y.S. Lau, Elia Gabarron, Luis Fernandez-Luque and Manuel Armayones HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT JOURNAL Vol 41 No 2 2012 ISSN 1833-3583 (PRINT) ISSN 1833-3575 (ONLINE) Cite as: Lau AY, Gabarron E, Fernandez-Luque L, Armayones M. Social media in health--what are the safety concerns for health consumers? HIM J. 2012;41(2):30-5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23705132
- 2. Introduction Health information technology (IT) is becoming increasingly important in patient care and consumer decision-making Hordern, A., Georgiou, A., Whetton, S. and Prgomet, M. (2011). Consumer e-health: An overview of research evidence and implications for future policy. Health Information Management Journal 40: 6-14. Little is known about the impact of social media on consumer health decisions, behaviours and outcomes. Social media may overcome many of the reading and writing barriers people experience due to limitations in their health literacy. This paper presents a range of safety concerns that health consumers are already experiencing in the social media world
- 3. Case Study Of Safety Concerns On YouTube 1 Harmful health material targeted at consumers 2 Public display of unhealthy behaviors 3 Tainted public health messages Psychological impact from accessing inappropriate social media content 4 Social media and public policy distortions 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-y_N4u0uRQ Unbelievable: doctors recommend smoking ! 60 years ago... Protect Your Child Against Vaccines! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj4coOe_PNw Cutting Scars & Self Harm (Montage) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c46g2ewY5Q
- 4. Pro-tobacco videos on YouTube consist primarily of indirect marke9ng ac9vity conducted by tobacco companies or their proxies Harmful Health Material Targeted At Consumers Elkin, L., Thomson, G. and Wilson, N. (2010). Connecting world youth with tobacco brands: YouTube and the internet policy vacuum on web 2.0. Tobacco Control 19: 361-366. 71.2% of YouTube videos containing cigareBe brands videos had pro- tobacco content Tobacco is oCen presented along with themes of interest that are popular among young people, such as celebri9es, movies, sports and music In par9cular, smoking fe9sh videos are prevalent and easily accessed by adolescents
- 5. Public Display Of Unhealthy Behaviors Lewis, S.P., Heath, N.L., St Denis, J.M. and Noble, R. (2011). The scope of nonsuicidal self-injury on YouTube. Pediatrics, 127: e552-e557. Whitlock, J., Lader, W. and Conterio, K. (2007). The Internet and self-injury: what psychotherapists should know. Journal of Clinical Psychology 63: 1135-1143. Lange, J., Daniel, J., Homer, K., Reed, M.B. and Clapp, J.D. (2010). Salvia divinorum: effects and use among YouTube users. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 108: 138-140. Over the last decade, the presence of Nonsuicidal self-injury on the Internet has grown considerably Another dangerous behaviour, conducted for a few seconds to achieve the state of euphoria, is the ‘choking game’. • In this ’game’ individuals strangle themselves, either alone or in a group. • Despite the risks, millions of young people watch these videos on YouTube, normalising this behaviour and potentially promoting self- harm behaviours among themselves and others In addition to these unhealthy behaviours, there are countless YouTube videos showing people using drugs: injecting themselves with heroin, sniffing cocaine or glue, and using other emerging drugs such as salvia divinorum
- 6. Tainted Public Health Messages In the health domain, this often consists of trashing public health messages Social media acts as outlets & news sources for channeling and expressing opinions and points of view on controversial topics YouTube has the potential to significantly shift public attitudes and beliefs about a controversial topic in a short period of time. Health authorities need to consider carefully the balance between engaging their target audience, and moderating comments on promotional material. Briones, R., Nan, X., Madden, K. and Waks, L. (2011). When vaccines go viral: An analysis of HPV vaccine coverage on YouTube. Health Communication. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2011. 610258. Available at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22029723 (accessed 20 Apr 2012).
- 7. Psychological Impact From Inappropriate Social Media Content Hussin, M., Frazier, S. and Thompson, J.K. (2011). Fat stigmatization on YouTube: A content analysis. Body Image 8: 90-92. Lo, A.S., Esser, M.J. and Gordon, K.E. (2010). YouTube: A gauge of public perception and awareness surrounding epilepsy. Epilepsy and Behavior 17: 541-545. Accessing social media content that is salient, can cause unintended psychological impact on its viewers, especially when accessed by minors. Examples of inappropriate social media content include treatment options on prostate cancer, radiotherapy and surgery. YouTube contains many examples that stigmatize patient illnesses or symptoms, such as epilepsy and obesity causing unnecessary psychological pain to its sufferers
- 8. Social Media and Public Policy Distortions Hussin, M., Frazier, S. and Thompson, J.K. (2011). Fat stigmatization on YouTube: A content analysis. Body Image 8: 90-92. Lo, A.S., Esser, M.J. and Gordon, K.E. (2010). YouTube: A gauge of public perception and awareness surrounding epilepsy. Epilepsy and Behavior 17: 541-545. There is a community of people affected by MS who are major supporters of the CCSVI liberation theory These communities are active in the social media world, advocating a surgical treatment that has not yet been proven effective. In Canada, such social media lobby groups managed to influence and modify national research agendas Overall, this case highlights the problems faced by researchers when significant research funding decisions are influenced by movements in social media without adequate support of scientific evidence.
- 9. Discussion Can we learn from regulatory bodies on ways to use social media in a safe and effective manner?Q • Cybersmart program in Australia is designed to meet the needs of children, young people, parents, teachers, to address cyber safety issues. • In the US, a major public health agency, the CDC, is actively engaging the use of social media to educate and communicate with its targeted health consumer audience. A Can we improve consumers’ skills, motivations and attitudes to make their consumption and production of social media material safer? Q • Encouraging producers to place warnings to advise users of potentially offensive material should become norms of practice. • Authorities should consider developing versions of standardized media product rating systems to rate social media videos, A Can we learn from the Institute of Medicine to develop a scientific approach in designing and monitoring the safety of social media interventions for health? Q The recent IOM report outlines recommendations call for cross- disciplinary research towards the design and use of health IT, with a focus on: (a) user-centred design and human factors; (b) socio-technical systems approach; (c) post-deployment safety testing; & (d) policies to govern the use of health IT. A
- 10. Consumers and patients are likely to be subjected to greater risks when unsafe content is consumed than in the pre-social media world. More studies needed to investigate the prevalence & mechanisms of potential harm due to use of social media New skill-sets in e-health literacy to be incorporated, such as (a) promoting online etiquette, & (b) encouraging the reporting of adverse events on the Internet, Researchers to use social media to disseminate their findings and ensure research findings are not misdirected Conclusion
- 11. Read the full paper Cite as: Lau AY, Gabarron E, Fernandez-Luque L, Armayones M. Social media in health--what are the safety concerns for health consumers? HIM J. 2012;41(2):30-5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23705132 PDF available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c059/0838dfd82df9c8204d70b5a615dce84e6253.pdf Image credits (moreslides.com) hBps://www.shuBerstock.com/pic-388232395/stock-photo-businessman-holding-small-tablet-at-table-against-happy-doctor-siMng-at-his-desk.html hBps://www.shuBerstock.com/pic-397447645/stock-photo-doctor-working-with-tablet-computer.html hBps://www.shuBerstock.com/pic-404967631/stock-photo-closeup-of-a-young-caucasian-woman-with-red-nail-polish-in-her-fingernails-smoking-a- cigareBe-and-using-a-smartphone-at-the-same-9me-outdoors.html hBps://www.shuBerstock.com/download/confirm/375556852?src=&id=375556852&size=huge_jpg hBps://www.shuBerstock.com/pic-155818556/stock-photo-young-person-thinking-with-glowing-puzzle-mind-on-grungy-background.html hBps://www.shuBerstock.com/pic-485035144/stock-photo-young-medical-doctor-with-a-stethoscope-around-his-neck-holding-a-black-folder.html