Social Media and the Practice of Public Health

Abstract

The primary purpose of social media is to allow people to maintain remote connections from all parts of the world. However, it has the very impactful secondary purpose of being able to influence global public health practices. This chapter will examine specific ways in which social media is used to promote health and wellness, including disseminating information about disease outbreaks, targeted advertisements for individuals’ health needs, managing chronic conditions, receiving health information from others, forming online support groups, and monitoring pandemics. Furthermore, the chapter also describes challenges in addition to benefits with regard to the increasing use of social media to influence public health practices. The chapter also includes a case study that demonstrates how industry professionals can incorporate the use of social media into their practices.