By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth 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
    All-On-4 Dental Implant Surgery: A Guide to the Recovery Process
    All-On-4 Dental Implant Surgery: A Guide to the Recovery Process
    March 22, 2023
    scaling a pharmaceutical product
    Important Steps to Take for Scaling A Biopharma Product
    May 2, 2023
    Liposuction
    The Science Behind Liposuction: How It Works to Sculpt Your Body
    August 23, 2023
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • 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
    Nursing Shortage Cheerleaders: There You Go Again
    March 22, 2012
    Myth Busters #9: Hysteria Over the Uninsured
    September 27, 2011
    What Causes Inflammation? A Comprehensive Look At The Causes and Effects Of Inflammation (part 3)
    April 10, 2012
    Latest News
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Chat 123 Summary: How Do Social Media Influence Health Care Journalism?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Social Media > Chat 123 Summary: How Do Social Media Influence Health Care Journalism?
eHealthSocial Media

Chat 123 Summary: How Do Social Media Influence Health Care Journalism?

fannygillet
Last updated: April 18, 2013 8:17 am
fannygillet
Share
7 Min Read
eHealth Twitter chat
SHARE
Edited by Colleen Young 

 

Edited by Colleen Young 

 

eHealth Twitter chatOn Wednesday April 10th, @kgrindrod moderated our discussion on the relationship between journalism and social media. As an introduction to the subject Kelly offered a research article by @JulieLeask “Media coverage of health issue and how to work more effectively with journalists: a qualitative study” and blog post by @cdnorman “The Importance of Journalism to Public Health: 10 Years After SARS How Are We Doing?” This chat welcomed many points of view from people of diverse backgrounds and professions.

Early in the discussion we realized the need to define “journalist.” For the parameters of this chat, we were referring to the professionally trained journalists who are paid for their writing. Some people on the chat consider bloggers to be journalists. For the remainder of the chat we agreed that we were talking about journalists writing for main stream media or traditional media, and referred to bloggers as citizen journalists.

More Read

Image
Mobile Health Around the Globe: Health eVillages Helps Improve Quality of Care in Haiti
Google My Business: A Great Tool for Hospitals
BioPharma Beat: No, the Facts Don’t Always Speak for Themselves
Doctor Busted For Patient Information Inadvertently Exposed on Facebook
Review of eResponder Personal Emergency Response System (PERS)

@cdnorman: @williampearl @cmaer Role is different between paid f/t pros and citizen journalists. Both serve important purposes #hcsmca

— Colleen Young (@colleen_young) 10 avril 2013

T1: Media coverage of health issues: How can we help journalists report on health via social media?

Healthcare organizations and researchers rely on main stream media to help them communicate their news, events and research. @SignalsBlog directed us to this article “Why the pen is sometimes mightier than the pipette” underlining that being published in traditional media can increase the rate of academic research citations. Social media can be used by journalists to reach healthcare organizations and vice versa. But one thing is sure – both parties have to build a trusting relationship to work well together. Social media can help to build such relationships, giving space for each side to get to know each other. Through social media we can identify our respective areas of specialty and learn to work together within each others’ realities (e.g., deadlines, internal approval processes, etc.).

Remembering cultural diffs between worlds of journalism and research also key – diff norms, deadlines, resource limitations etc #hcsmca

— Julia Belluz (@juliaoftoronto) 10 avril 2013

Healthcare organizations can help journalists by providing them with interesting topic ideas, relevant information, experts to be interviewed, images, testimonials, etc. Journalists also mentioned that people sometimes reached them via social media with story ideas and that social media can be helpful for them to find different points of views.

I find it helpful when people (within reason) reach out to me on SM about things to cover/read #hcsmca

— Julia Belluz (@juliaoftoronto) 10 avril 2013

T1: We can help journalists report on health via social media by being mini-journalists giving them good twitter traffic to trend #hcsmca

— Glenn Lanteigne (@GlennLanteigne) 10 avril 2013

According to some hcsmca-ers, the journalist-healthcare organization relationship has to be built before we need journalists – this collaboration requires anticipation. Twitter can help find people and build such relationships.

T1 HC orgs could help by building relationships with journalists in advance of a health crisis.#hcsmca

— Craig Thompson (@CraigTyyz) 10 avril 2013

Hcsmca-ers pointed out that jargon can sometimes interfere with effective collaboration. Indeed, for journalists, especially for non-health/medicine journalists, it can be hard to understand medical jargon. To avoid misinterpretation, healthcare organizations and researchers should provide concise, clear, plain language material to journalists, particularly because traditional media timelines do not always allow for review of the article before it is published.

Info may be reported same way as presented by healthcare specialists–needs to be clear and actionable, limited jargon #hcsmca

— Farrah Schwartz (@FarrahSchwartz) 10 avril 2013

T2: How do health journalists use social media to research stories and to disseminate them?

Health journalists use social media as a source of information. But hcsmca-ers questioned whether people using social media were largely talking into an echo chamber. Perhaps and for that reason journalists would never use social media as their sole source of information. However, listening via social media may help them find new perspectives that they may otherwise not be aware of and help them connect with subject matter experts or thought leaders. Several hcsmca-ers mentioned they had been contacted through Twitter to provide context for media stories.

@signalsblog absolutely, which is why #hcsmca works well as an echo chamber – great for ideas for long features

— Charlie Fidelman (@HealthIssues) 10 avril 2013

It’s not only an echo chamber tho – I stumble on items/opinions all the time I would have otherwise missed #hcsmca

— Julia Belluz (@juliaoftoronto) 10 avril 2013

Traditional media is also one way for patients to tell their stories. Some hcsmca-ers pointed out that patient stories may not always be used for the patients’ benefit. Is social media helping to change this?

Hlth reporting too focussed on Big Pharma & medical industrial complex issues – gd 4 business; not always good for patients #hcsmca

— David Lewis (@DrPlumEU) 10 avril 2013

@cmaer i think patients are getting more accomplished at telling their stories directly through blogs etc #hcsmca

— Marie Ennis-O’Connor (@JBBC) 10 avril 2013

For the complete discussion, you can read the transcript.

Where do traditional media and social media intersect for you?

(image: social media healthcare / shutterstock)

TAGGED:HCSMCAjournalism
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

healthcare facilities
Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
Global Healthcare Infographics
June 15, 2025
from gut to glow
From Plate to Wellness: How Everyday Foods Nourish Your Body Inside and Out
Dental health Infographics Specialties
June 15, 2025
beyond nutrition
Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
Health Infographics
June 15, 2025
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Therapy
How TMS Therapy Helps with Treatment-Resistant Mental Illness
Mental Health Therapies
June 13, 2025

You Might also Like

Brain Strengthening iPhone Games for Techie Grandmas and Grandpas

January 31, 2012
mitigating-risk-II-e1383041558507
BusinessFinanceGlobal HealthcareHealth ReformHospital AdministrationMedical EthicsMedical RecordsPolicy & LawTechnology

Eliminating Risk with Independent Review Organizations & External Reviews

October 14, 2015
health IT
eHealthGlobal HealthcareMedical InnovationsMedical RecordsTechnology

When Health IT Is the Patient

May 19, 2014

Telehealth Tapping into Social Influence

September 20, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?