SOCIAL MEDIA IN PUBLIC HEALTH Christine Miller, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit

CANADA HEALTH INFOWAY’S WINNER OF THE JUDGES AWARD FOR INNOVATION….. The SMDHU is using social media to engage with the local population of men who have sex with men (MSM). The goal of the campaign is to meet the educational needs of the MSM community in Simcoe Muskoka and encourage the adoption of safer sex practices.

BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THIS INITIATIVE SMDHU introduced a comprehensive approach that… Meet’s the educational needs of this community Encourages adoption of safer sex practices Supports harm reduction messaging Referrals for timely STI testing

ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA How can we, as administrative staff promote social media to further Public Health messaging? The Obvious Choices: Facebook Twitter Linked In You Tube OTN Web/Video Conferencing Health Unit Website

THINK ‘OUTSIDE THE BOX’ The Talk Sex with a nurse campaign was designed as an online outreach and delivers messaging to a targeted population through instant messaging, bulletin boards, and online forums. Why this works: Essentially this approach makes it very easy for the target audience to find your messaging because the message is exactly where the target audience is looking.

HOW CAN ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF HELP? Encourage changes within the office environment Continuously evaluate quality improvement and processes Discover the most effective ways to communicate with others