212810 Click Here for Change: Using Social Media During National Public Health Week

Wednesday, November 11, 2009: 12:30 PM

R. David Rebanal, MPH , Northwest Health Foundation, Portland, OR
  
Communicating messages has become more complex and challenging in a society that is used to seeking its information from multiple, and often, competing media channels. Public health practitioners must continue to incorporate lessons learned from media research and new tools such as social networking sites.

Community Health Priorities (CHP) is a project of the Northwest Health Foundation and the Oregon Public Health Division. The initiative aims to build political and public will around priority public health policy initiatives through electronic and grassroots community engagement and media advocacy. During the 2009 National Public Health Week, CHP utilized several social media strategies to promote key messages: a) used Facebook to coordinate a statewide student public health photo contest, generating over 100 entries and media coverage; b) engaged 30 state legislators to each report how any miles they walked as measured by a pedometer on the project's blog (www.communityhealthpriorities.org); used viral marketing to disseminate op-eds by community leaders' support for prevention; and d) sponsored a provocative health researcher to be a featured guest on a popular radio public broadcasting station. Several outcomes and lessons learned will be shared in an interactive presentation, which will include measures of message framing, public opinion research, and partnerships formed.

Learning Objectives:
Discuss key lessons learned for incorporating social media tools in communication and public will building projects. Describe findings from key media stakeholders about improving public health communication efforts.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have presented and lectured at several conferences and meetings on various topics in public health. I have attended six APHA conferences in the past seven years, and am familar with the audience. Lastly, I have over 12 years of public health experience, including working at NYC Dept. of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oregon State Department of Human Services, and now, the Northwest Health Foundation in Portland, OR.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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