268971 NIOSH Evaluates the Use of YouTube to Spark Interest in No-Nose Bike Seats for Bicycle Police Officers

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Mansi Das, MPH, MBA , NIOSH, CDC, Cincinnati, OH
Amy Filko , National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Washington, DC
Christina Spring, MA , National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Washington, DC
Brian Lowe, PhD , National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH
Steven Schrader, PhD , National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH
Joseph Andruzzi Jr., Sgt , Bicycle Patrol Unit, Chicago Police Department, Chicago, IL
Social media applications like YouTube can be valuable tools to significantly expand the dissemination of information worldwide to professionals in the field, to workers, and employers to help prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. This presentation reports on an innovative pilot project testing the use of YouTube as a platform to drive traffic to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Web site.

NIOSH worked with the Chicago police department to develop a video with footage of bicycle police officers using a no-nose seat as a part of their daily safety check. The dynamic 1-minute 26-second video was uploaded to NIOSH's YouTube channel and served as a “teaser” to generate curiosity and drive viewers to the NIOSH Web site to learn more about the benefits of no-nose saddles for minimizing groin pressure, a potential occupational risk to reproductive health. An active dissemination strategy was employed using internal and external connections to the law enforcement community in direct email solicitations. NIOSH's electronic news, Facebook, and Twitter were also used to reach the intended audiences. Collaborating with partners like the International Police Mountain Bike Association proved essential in directly reaching bicycle police officers.

A discussion will include information on how the YouTube video was successful in garnering curiosity to drive traffic to the NIOSH Web page, along with lessons learned on working with partners and the use of YouTube. It will be discussed whether the long-term goal of increasing awareness and use of no-nose saddles is achievable through YouTube.

Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Occupational health and safety

Learning Objectives:
Identify at least three important factors in designing a YouTube video Describe how YouTube can be a tool to strategically disseminate information and draw interested people to another communication platform containing additional detail Discuss lessons learned of using a platform such as YouTube to generate curiosity and interest about an occupational safety and health issue Evaluate YouTube’s impact using qualitative and quantitative metrics Describe the benefits and challenges of working with partners to disseminate information through new media

Keywords: Reproductive Health, Partnerships

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been an advisor on this project and have worked in coordination with the project officers.
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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