Since young people are particularly vulnerable to H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu, public health officials are leveraging new social media strategies to disseminate flu prevention messages.
At the Boston Public Health Commission, a group of interns created a YouTube rap video called "Talkin' About the Flu." The commission also is working to promote healthy behavior through Facebook, Twitter and mobile phone text messages.
In an iHealthBeat Special Report by Deirdre Kennedy, experts discussed various strategies for promoting health information through social media channels.
The Special Report includes comments from:
- Anita Barry, director of the Boston Public Health Commission's Infectious Disease Bureau;
- Margaux Joffe, multimedia coordinator at BPHC; and
- Ann Scales, BPHC communications chief.
Experts say social media applications are particularly suited for spreading health information because the tools allow people to interact and share messages (Kennedy, iHealthBeat, 12/23).
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