April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Looking at Digital Inequalities and Gatekeeping Through a Rural Health Organization's Social Media
The inclusion of underrepresented and diverse populations in health research is vital to the advancement of medicine, treatments, policies, and public health. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the exclusion of many populations in health data and among those in the U.S. were individuals living in rural communities. It is estimated that in 2022 approximately 46 million U.S. residents lived in rural areas (USDA ERS - Charts of Note, n.d.). Rural populations face many barriers to healthcare access and resources including health communication. One rural health organization in the southwest has an avid social media presence providing health information and resources for community members. Looking into key aspects of this organization’s processes to communicate about health to their community may provide crucial information which can inform health professionals, policy makers, and individuals in public health
The use of social media platforms by the rural health organization to share health information can be seen as efforts to overcome digital inequalities which have been theorized to be a type of social determinant of health (Beaunoyer et al., 2020). As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted many resources to health in rural populations, access to online information became a necessity as social distancing and online interactions became nonnegotiable. There is also an element of gatekeeping with information sharing on social media platforms as those who create the media posts are they themselves gatekeepers to what is being shared with the community at large (Chin-Fook & Simmonds, 2011; Shoemaker & Vos, 2009).
The aim of the current study is to capture and describe health communication through a rural health organization’s social media committee through social media platforms. Support from the rural health organization was obtained before the study was submitted to the university’s institutional review board. Key-informant interviews with the health organization’s social media committee were conducted, guided by a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were done over a virtual platform and each participant were given a $25 merchandise card as a thank you for their time. NVivo, a qualitative platform, was used to code the interviews and themes were created from the codes.
Analysis of the interviews showed major themes centered around the culture of the rural community and the social media committee itself. Participants described their community and the communication needs in terms of health. Participants also described the need for a social media committee due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the processes involved in creating health content based on reputable sources and vetting their social media content. Participants also shared the disconnect they feel from the state’s government in policies, resources, and communication. Information from this study could help inform healthcare providers, government officials, and individuals as to the needs in health and communication for rural communities.
The use of social media platforms by the rural health organization to share health information can be seen as efforts to overcome digital inequalities which have been theorized to be a type of social determinant of health (Beaunoyer et al., 2020). As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted many resources to health in rural populations, access to online information became a necessity as social distancing and online interactions became nonnegotiable. There is also an element of gatekeeping with information sharing on social media platforms as those who create the media posts are they themselves gatekeepers to what is being shared with the community at large (Chin-Fook & Simmonds, 2011; Shoemaker & Vos, 2009).
The aim of the current study is to capture and describe health communication through a rural health organization’s social media committee through social media platforms. Support from the rural health organization was obtained before the study was submitted to the university’s institutional review board. Key-informant interviews with the health organization’s social media committee were conducted, guided by a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were done over a virtual platform and each participant were given a $25 merchandise card as a thank you for their time. NVivo, a qualitative platform, was used to code the interviews and themes were created from the codes.
Analysis of the interviews showed major themes centered around the culture of the rural community and the social media committee itself. Participants described their community and the communication needs in terms of health. Participants also described the need for a social media committee due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the processes involved in creating health content based on reputable sources and vetting their social media content. Participants also shared the disconnect they feel from the state’s government in policies, resources, and communication. Information from this study could help inform healthcare providers, government officials, and individuals as to the needs in health and communication for rural communities.