Social media and Immunisation
Included as content within broader topic pages or groups• Parenting pages• Personal pages• Health information sites• Pro science (sceptics etc) sites
Immunisation-specific pages or groups• ‘Anti-vaccine’• ‘Pro-vaccine’ • often closed groups
Tell me about your own social media use…
• How many of you actively use social media?• What platforms?
• Facebook• Twitter• Instagram
• Do you look for immunisation content • Do people bring it to your attention?• Do you belong to any immunisation specific groups?• What’s your level of activity like?
Social media doesn’t make it easy to trust vaccines
• Misinformation• Anti-science • Complicated subject matter• Regular, committed posters with less than favourable views on vaccines
Ref: Steffens, M.S., Dunn, A. G., Wiley, K.E., Leask, J. (In Press) How organisations promoting vaccination respond to misinformation on social media: a qualitative investigation. BMC Public Health
Recommendations
Ref: Steffens, M.S., Dunn, A. G., Wiley, K.E., Leask, J. (In Press) How organisations promoting vaccination respond to misinformation on social media: a qualitative investigation. BMC Public Health
1. Responding to misinformation
Ref: Steffens, M.S., Dunn, A. G., Wiley, K.E., Leask, J. (In Press) How organisations promoting vaccination respond to misinformation on social media: a qualitative investigation. BMC Public Health
• Avoid amplifying misinformation/emphasise the correct info• Choose your battles• Track conversations• Take opportunities to speak to the silent audience• Proactively educate- not just responding to the negative
2. Responding to anti-vaccine activists
Ref: Steffens, M.S., Dunn, A. G., Wiley, K.E., Leask, J. (In Press) How organisations promoting vaccination respond to misinformation on social media: a qualitative investigation. BMC Public Health
• Avoid arguments• Remember there are actually less of them than it appears
3. The role of facts and evidence
Ref: Steffens, M.S., Dunn, A. G., Wiley, K.E., Leask, J. (In Press) How organisations promoting vaccination respond to misinformation on social media: a qualitative investigation. BMC Public Health
• Pair fact with personal stories• Don’t overload the audience• Be transparent/honest about who you are and the risks of vaccination
4. Collective action to strengthen the pro-vaccine voice
Ref: Steffens, M.S., Dunn, A. G., Wiley, K.E., Leask, J. (In Press) How organisations promoting vaccination respond to misinformation on social media: a qualitative investigation. BMC Public Health
• Extend your networks- include us! (and other providers, colleagues etc)• Collaborate• Share the load of replying- it can get fairly depressing• Create a professional account – don’t use your personal one• Different email address to your personal one, but can use same name
How to respond1. Be honest and avoid repeating the myth2. Avoid pejorative (negative) terms about people, e.g. anti-imms, anti-science3. Affirm immunisation as normal health behaviour4. Talk about the positive outcome (health) rather than the vaccine5. Avoid fear-based communications6. Acknowledge fears and concerns7. Identify shared values and beliefs 8. Focus on respect and empathy rather than challenging beliefs9. Connect as a parent10. Repeat the positive information within the context of their beliefs and values
From work by Jess Berenston-Shaw
How to decide whether to reply
• Assess the person who has commented– will they listen?• Are they NZ-based?(commenting from overseas groups happens a bit)
Whether to reply (continued)
• How old is the original post?• Is it buried in a web of other comments?• Is it a good opportunity?• Don’t forget the silent audience
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