Turning Value into Action: Healthcare Workers Using Digital Media Advocacy to Drive Change

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2021 Apr 29

PMID 33914809

Citations 1

Authors

Marissa A Boeck

Catherine J Juillard

Rochelle A Dicker

Bellal A Joseph

Joseph V Sakran

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The standard method of sharing information in academia is the scientific journal. Yet health advocacy requires alternative methods to reach key stakeholders to drive change. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of social media and public narrative for advocacy in matters of firearm-related injury and death.

Study Design: The movement This Is Our Lane was evaluated through the #ThisIsOurLane and #ThisIsMyLane hashtags. Sources were assessed from November 2018 through March 2019. Analyses specifically examined message volume, time course, global engagement, and content across Twitter, scientific literature, and mass media. Twitter data were analyzed via Symplur Signals. Scientific literature reviews were performed using PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Mass media was compiled using Access World News/Newsbank, Newspaper Source, and Google.

Results: A total of 507,813 tweets were shared using #ThisIsOurLane, #ThisIsMyLane, or both (co-occurrence 21-39%). Fifteen scientific items and n = 358 mass media publications were published during the study period; the latter included articles, blogs, television interviews, petitions, press releases, and audio interviews/podcasts. Peak messaging appeared first on Twitter on November 10th, followed by mass media on November 12th and 20th, and scientific publications during December.

Conclusions: Social media enables clinicians to quickly disseminate information about a complex public health issue like firearms to the mainstream media, scientific community, and general public alike. Humanized data resonates with people and has the ability to transcend the barriers of language, culture, and geography. Showing society the reality of caring for firearm-related injuries through healthcare worker stories via digital media appears to be effective in shaping the public agenda and influencing real-world events.

Citing Articles

When Students Patronize Fast-Food Restaurants near School: The Effects of Identification with the Student Community, Social Activity Spaces and Social Liability Interventions.

Davis B, Pechmann C Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(5).

PMID: 36901521 PMC: 10002251. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20054511.

References

Bou-Karroum L, El-Jardali F, Hemadi N, Faraj Y, Ojha U, Shahrour M . Using media to impact health policy-making: an integrative systematic review. Implement Sci. 2017; 12(1):52. PMC: 5395744. DOI: 10.1186/s13012-017-0581-0. View

Berridge V . Public health activism: lessons from history?. BMJ. 2007; 335(7633):1310-2. PMC: 2151155. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.39399.612454.AD. View

Wintemute G, Betz M, Ranney M . Yes, You Can: Physicians, Patients, and Firearms. Ann Intern Med. 2016; 165(3):205-13. DOI: 10.7326/M15-2905. View

Sun K, Chen J, Viboud C . Early epidemiological analysis of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak based on crowdsourced data: a population-level observational study. Lancet Digit Health. 2020; 2(4):e201-e208. PMC: 7158945. DOI: 10.1016/S2589-7500(20)30026-1. View

Jones N, Nguyen J, Strand N, Reeves K . What Should Be the Scope of Physicians' Roles in Responding to Gun Violence?. AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(1):84-90. DOI: 10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.pfor2-1801. View

Stamatakis K, McBride T, Brownson R . Communicating prevention messages to policy makers: the role of stories in promoting physical activity. J Phys Act Health. 2010; 7 Suppl 1:S99-107. PMC: 3963269. DOI: 10.1123/jpah.7.s1.s99. View

Ranney M, Betz M, Dark C . #ThisIsOurLane - Firearm Safety as Health Care's Highway. N Engl J Med. 2018; 380(5):405-407. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1815462. View

Fairchild A, Rosner D, Colgrove J, Bayer R, Fried L . The EXODUS of public health. What history can tell us about the future. Am J Public Health. 2009; 100(1):54-63. PMC: 2791244. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.163956. View

Freeman B, Potente S, Rock V, McIver J . Social media campaigns that make a difference: what can public health learn from the corporate sector and other social change marketers?. Public Health Res Pract. 2015; 25(2):e2521517. DOI: 10.17061/phrp2521517. View

10.

Cairney P, Oliver K . Evidence-based policymaking is not like evidence-based medicine, so how far should you go to bridge the divide between evidence and policy?. Health Res Policy Syst. 2017; 15(1):35. PMC: 5407004. DOI: 10.1186/s12961-017-0192-x. View

11.

Dyer O . US doctors react to criticism from National Rifle Association. BMJ. 2018; 363:k4795. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.k4795. View

12.

Talley C, Campbell B, Jenkins D, Barnes S, Sidwell R, Timmerman G . Recommendations from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma's Firearm Strategy Team (FAST) Workgroup: Chicago Consensus I. J Am Coll Surg. 2018; 228(2):198-206. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2018.11.002. View

13.

Stead M, Hastings G, Eadie D . The challenge of evaluating complex interventions: a framework for evaluating media advocacy. Health Educ Res. 2002; 17(3):351-64. DOI: 10.1093/her/17.3.351. View

14.

Taichman D, Bornstein S, Laine C . Firearm Injury Prevention: AFFIRMing That Doctors Are in Our Lane. Ann Intern Med. 2018; 169(12):885-886. DOI: 10.7326/M18-3207. View

15.

Wallack L, Dorfman L . Media advocacy: a strategy for advancing policy and promoting health. Health Educ Q. 1996; 23(3):293-317. DOI: 10.1177/109019819602300303. View

16.

Dodson E, Stamatakis K, Chalifour S, Haire-Joshu D, McBride T, Brownson R . State legislators' work on public health-related issues: what influences priorities?. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2012; 19(1):25-9. PMC: 3896546. DOI: 10.1097/PHH.0b013e318246475c. View

17.

Dorfman L, Wallack L, Woodruff K . More than a message: framing public health advocacy to change corporate practices. Health Educ Behav. 2005; 32(3):320-36. DOI: 10.1177/1090198105275046. View

18.

Rubin R . Physicians Are Steering the Conversation About Gun Violence. JAMA. 2018; 321(2):133-135. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2018.20385. View

19.

Chapman S . Advocacy in public health: roles and challenges. Int J Epidemiol. 2002; 30(6):1226-32. DOI: 10.1093/ije/30.6.1226. View

20.

Bulger E, Kuhls D, Campbell B, Bonne S, Cunningham R, Betz M . Proceedings from the Medical Summit on Firearm Injury Prevention: A Public Health Approach to Reduce Death and Disability in the US. J Am Coll Surg. 2019; 229(4):415-430.e12. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2019.05.018. View