Focus on: social media Social media as a power for good Rifah Ahsan, Digital Engagement Officer at Eastern AHSN discusses the opportunity social media presents for better patient engagement You dont start communities, they already exist. Theyre already doing what they want to do. The question you should ask is how you can help them do that better Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, speaking in 2012 Since the early 2000s, a growing number of people have been using social media as a medium for talking about healthcare-related issues.1 Research has found that to date, the most effective way to reach a large pool of patients is through social media and that 78% of all internet users in the UK have access to Facebook.2 Over time, the traditional patient-GP relationship has changed. Patients are now forming online groups to share health concerns and are seeking advice from their GPs based on information found on social media platforms. While there are obvious concerns about misinformation, at Eastern AHSN, we believe social media can also be used as a power for good, particularly in driving awareness of healthcare. Awareness through social sharing Recently, we harnessed the reach of Facebook to directly benefit patients with osteoarthritis Threefold increase in the number of people ESCAPE-pain visiting website the ESCAPE-pain website through ESCAPE-pain, a national AHSN programme that offers patients the reassurance and support they need to exercise safely over a six-week exercise and education course. Using Facebooks ability to run targeted advertising, we created a campaign to drive awareness of ESCAPE-pain and encourage people in the region to sign up for classes. We targeted people who had engaged with osteoarthritis pain management pages on Facebook, as well as those people over 35 years old who were likely to have older relatives or friends with the condition. The positive outcomes are clear. As a result of the campaign, 963 people were directed to the ESCAPE-pain website a threefold increase, achieved at a highly cost-effective 0.19p per click. These figures highlight how important social media can be in connecting patients to helpful Smailhodzic, E., et al., (2016). Social media use in healthcare: A systematic review of effects on patients and on their relationship with healthcare professionals. BMC Health Services Research. 16(442). Viewed 28th May 2020. Available from https://doi. org/10.1186/s12913-016-1691-0 1 Avocado Social. The latest UK social media statistics for 2019 [online]. Avocado Social. [Viewed 28th May 2020]. Available from https://avocadosocial.com/ latest-social-media-statistics-anddemographics-for-the-uk-in-2019/ 2 References Share this article information which, in the case of ESCAPE-pain participants, is the first step to managing their pain and regaining control of their lives. Find out more about ESCAPE-pain. Changing times Today, unlimited medical information, online pages and promotional material provide people with the opportunity to manage their healthcare from their device and so healthcare communication has irreversibly shifted. While there are concerns around social media and its impact on health, there is also undoubtedly great potential in these technologies and healthcare organisations must adapt to meet the needs and expectations of patients. Work with us If youd like to explore how you could use social media to support your innovation, get in touch with us rifah.ahsan@eahsn.org