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Online Program

325277
Social Media Use in Nebraska Communities


Monday, November 2, 2015

Stephanie Nelson, BS, College of Public Health, Center for Preparedness Education, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Sharon Medcalf, PhD, MEd, BS, AD, Center for Preparedness Education, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Background: As communities engage more frequently in gathering and sharing information via social media, experts believe this information can be systematically assembled and used in a way beneficial to a community. To emergency response agencies, social media connections can foster conversations between organizations and the people they serve. There is potential for using social media to augment the effectiveness of a disaster response, but there is no systematic means to monitor social media in an effort to distribute resources where they are needed most. This study will determine what citizens of communities in Nebraska are using in terms of social media and what form of social media they would be most likely to use to seek help during an emergency situation.

Methods: Participants were asked to complete an online survey to determine their preferred social media platforms, and which platforms they would feel most comfortable using to seek or provide information during an emergency or disaster situation.

Results: Three-hundred-twenty-six participants partook in this study. Results determined that 97.8% of participants have a cell phone and 86.6% of participants would be willing to install a free app to communicate in a disaster. Additionally, several things were learned regarding current social media use and the most popular outlets for information in a disaster.

Conclusions: Few studies have analyzed social media use in disasters among their communities. This study enlightens community public health and emergency management officials regarding social media use among their members and ways to increase knowledge during an emergency situation.

Learning Areas:

Communication and informatics
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Identify the study participants' most common sources of information in a disaster List the top social media platforms used in a disaster Discuss study participants' willingness to participate in a disaster preparedness exercise

Keyword(s): Technology, Emergency Preparedness

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a second year MPH and MBA student. I am the graduate assistant with the Center for Preparedness Education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. In my time with the Center, I have assisted with numerous trainings and emergency preparedness exercises around the state. I teach classes for the MS in Emergency Preparedness program here at UNMC. I also did all analysis and results write up of this paper.
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.

Back to: 3305.0: Natural Disaster and Community Resilience