By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    stress management for healthcare workers
    3 Tips For Healthcare Professionals: How To Stay Beautiful, Healthy, and Happy
    November 2, 2021
    importance of relaxing on the weekend for your health
    Importance of Relaxing During the Weekend for Optimal Health
    March 25, 2022
    LASIK Eye Surgery
    What Is LASIK Eye Surgery?
    May 16, 2022
    Latest News
    Clean Your Mattress Properly to Avoid Common Health Issues
    March 29, 2023
    5 Benefits Of HIPAA-Compliant Answering Services
    March 28, 2023
    3 Ways To Deal With Health Issues In Cities With High Pollution
    March 22, 2023
    What Tools Should Your Caregiver Have?
    March 22, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Healthcare in the Two Americas: Interactive Slide Show
    September 19, 2013
    How Healthcare Workers Can Smoothly Change Careers
    September 26, 2017
    obamacare implementation
    Making Sense of the Technical Difficulties in ObamaCare Implementation
    October 9, 2013
    Latest News
    What Are Bioidentical Hormones Made With?
    March 23, 2023
    Cover Medical Costs of Child Dog Bites with Legal Specialists
    March 23, 2023
    3 Ways to Improve the U.S. Healthcare System By 2030
    March 14, 2023
    6 Steps To Ensure Speed And Efficiency Of Clinical Studies
    March 14, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: 4 Common Myths About Online & Social Media Health Content Debunked
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Latest News
healthy travel tips when visiting Australia
7 Essential Tips to Stay Safe and Healthy Visiting Australia
News
health risks of dirty mattress
Clean Your Mattress Properly to Avoid Common Health Issues
Health
eligble for NDIS?
Are You Eligible For NDIS? How To Apply
News
upgrade to your nursing career
4 Pertinent Ways to Upgrade Your Nursing Career
Nursing
career in nursing
8 Keys to A Fulfilling & Successful Career in Nursing
Career
Aa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Aa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Public Health > 4 Common Myths About Online & Social Media Health Content Debunked
eHealthPublic HealthSocial Media

4 Common Myths About Online & Social Media Health Content Debunked

Jayme Hummer
Last updated: 2012/12/11 at 8:05 AM
Jayme Hummer
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

Since September 2012 (and during previous stand-alone digihealth pulse studies conducted with online moms and health providers) we’ve been collecting reams of data on how people actually find and consume online and social media health content.  After more than a year of work, we’re ready to debunk four common myths about wellness and medical information published on the Web, including social media heavyweights Facebook and Twitter.

Since September 2012 (and during previous stand-alone digihealth pulse studies conducted with online moms and health providers) we’ve been collecting reams of data on how people actually find and consume online and social media health content.  After more than a year of work, we’re ready to debunk four common myths about wellness and medical information published on the Web, including social media heavyweights Facebook and Twitter.

Myth 1: Health Content on Facebook or Twitter Is Not Credible: The front page of digihealth pulse has displayed three numbers since we launched in September 2012.  These are ‘Credibility Scores’, an index we developed that ranges from one (low credibility) to five (high credibility).  This index is made up of information which study participants have provided on the credibility of thousands of individual pieces of health content they have consumed over the past three months. Ultimately, when a study participant encounters a piece of online health content, they rate its credibility level from one to five and we index the data creating the scores you see below.

More Read

social media addiction is harming teenage mental health

5 Ways Social Media Affects Teen Mental Health

6 Innovative Technologies Making Medical Diagnostics More Predictive
What If You Need Emergency Care and Don’t Have Insurance?
A Guide to Medical Billing Services for Small Practices
Psychiatrists Now Working Online: How the Mental Healthcare Industry Is Evolving

If Facebook and Twitter Are So Unreliable, Why Are Digital Health Consumers Rating them As Credible or Highly Credible?

What’s interesting is that throughout the study average Facebook/Twitter Credibility Scores have hovered between 3.1 and 3.5. If people believed the health content they were encountering on these sites was completely unreliable, we would expect to see average scores between 2 and 2.8.  In addition, earlier this year, we found that physicians rated the credibility of health and medical content they encountered on Facebook and Twitter with similar Credibility Scores.  It’s clear that we can’t assume people believe health content is completely unreliable just because it appears on Facebook and Twitter.

Myth 2: Sentiment is An Accurate Measurement of Content Impact:  With digihealth pulse we’re also looking at whether sentiment can tell us anything about the impact of content on health behavior.  This is an important question as sentiment has become an important proxy for content impact — i.e., it is assumed that positive content has a favorable effect, negative content has a unfavorable effect. We’ve learned one important thing about sentiment after more than a year of study: Sentiment tells us very little about whether people will take action.  Just because a particular piece of content is perceived as negative or positive does not mean that it will definitely shift health behavior one way or the other.

Myth 3:  In Health, People Like Me Have More Influence than Traditional Information Sources: With the rise of social and peer-developed content, it’s become popular to assume that e-patients or other laypeople developing content online have more influence than traditional information or authority figures.  We’ve found this is simply untrue.  Not only are old-school online players like the mainstream media major outlets more likely to publish health content that captures attention, but they also have a greater influence on perceptions and intent.

Myth 4: Social and Search Are the Primary Ways People Encounter Health Content:  As I recently discussed, although a good amount of health content is consumed via proacting (search) and socializing (social media), these are not the primary ways people encounter much health/medical information.  Rather, a great deal of content is being consumed serendipitously on a range of Web properites, including news sites and health sites such as WebMD.

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Jayme Hummer December 11, 2012
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article Reimbursements: What Inaction Will Cause
Next Article Image High Quality, Low Cost HealthCare Video Interview Series: Robert Herzog and eCaring

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

healthy travel tips when visiting Australia
7 Essential Tips to Stay Safe and Healthy Visiting Australia
News March 29, 2023
health risks of dirty mattress
Clean Your Mattress Properly to Avoid Common Health Issues
Health March 29, 2023
eligble for NDIS?
Are You Eligible For NDIS? How To Apply
News March 29, 2023
upgrade to your nursing career
4 Pertinent Ways to Upgrade Your Nursing Career
Nursing March 29, 2023

You Might also Like

Health carePublic Health

Do You Need Life Insurance? What Does It Cover?

December 23, 2022
healthcare video marketing
MarketingSocial Media

How to Maintain a Successful YouTube Channel as a Healthcare Organization: Advantages of Video Marketing for your Medical Practice

November 9, 2022

Do I Qualify for Social Security Disability Benefits if I Got Injured on My Way to Work?

August 23, 2022
Electronic Health Records
BusinesseHealthHospital AdministrationMedical Records

Top Benefits of Electronic Health Records for Psychiatrists and Psychologists

August 15, 2022
//

We influence million of users and is the most authentic source of information on healthcare business and technology news.

Quick Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Follow US

© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?