The Radian6 Experience
Thanks to receiving the Higher Ed 30-day trial from Radian6, I was able to perform novel thesis research that will revolutionize public health and health communication.
Social Media & Public Health?
Throughout my Masters of Public Health career at Purdue University I have been academically and professionally involved with pandemic influenza research. However, I was very unaware of the impact social media was having on every aspect of society. Luckily I had Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu as a professor. Her passion for social media is incredibly contagious. Without her connections to Radian6 and other public health professionals my research would have been ordinary instead of extraordinary!
Is it Easy to Use?
Radian6 allowed me to monitor news and social media attitudes, themes, and trends regarding the seasonal and H1N1 flu shot. Radian6 is extremely easy to configure and analyze data findings. The hardest part thing about Radian6 is trying to narrow the focus of the research among endless possibilities. I could have had a 5 year subscription to Radian6 and still not fully express all the research capabilities of this powerful software.
Why is my Research Important?
The 2009 flu shot campaign promoted the seasonal and pandemic flu shots as the best weapon an individual had against contracting the flu. Although the federal government budgeted an estimated 1.4 billion dollars for this public health campaign, recent polls have shown a low rate of compliance with obtaining a flu shot for both children and adults. The government has consumed a large sum of money without reaping much benefit. Understanding how to improve upon these health messages is imperative to prevent morbidity and mortality during more severe pandemics. Social media monitoring may be the best and most efficient way of gathering data and analyzing the public’s opinions. The Radian6 software program was used to gather all mentions regarding the ‘flu shot’ from mainstream news, blogs, forums, Twitter, and Facebook. This data will be analyzed in multiple ways to show what individuals, topics, and media are most influential regarding the ‘importance of’ and ‘attitudes toward’ influenza vaccination.
The Results
Thanks to my Purdue Discovery Park center, Purdue Homeland Security Institute (PHSI), my Radian6 subscription has been extended to until my graduation this spring. This will allow me to make additional analyses to my research and look to future publication opportunities.
Radian6 is the Way to Go!!!
I have never dealt with a more accommodating, professional, and personable staff. I highly recommend anyone to obtain a subscription to Radian6! I guarantee you will not regret it!
Why Should Healthcare Care about Twitter?
For the first time in history, we are able to listen to public’s concerns… well pretty much about everything!
Why is this important?
Major corporations such as Dell, Comcast, Pepsi, IBM, and Microsoft, care greatly about what people are saying on social media sites about their products. You may have noticed this change in such Microsoft commercials (“Windows 7 was MY idea”), or Best Buy commercials (asking questions to a stadium full of employees). Both implying they are listening and interacting with people to better serve their needs. As a result, they have built trust with their consumers and are profiting because of it.
Who uses Twitter anyway?
More and more people every day! In the fall of 2009, it was found that one in five internet users use Twitter or another service to share updates or to see updates about others, which significantly increased from one in ten in April 2009 (Pew Internet, 2009). There has been a recent Twitter explosion growing from 2 million Twitter accounts in December of 2008 to 17 million May 2009 resulting in 83% increase, and an astonishing 3,000% increase from a year ago! (ComScore, 2009)
Ok ok… What does this have to do with healthcare?
Before putting out health messages, wouldn’t it be great to better understand what the current barriers and benefits people are already talking about using these informal channels? This could displace rumors and fine tune messages without the time and effort of focus groups. For instance, there is a current distrust in the H1N1 vaccine as recognized by the news media:
“Of all the big questions facing our country, there’s one in particular that touches us in an immediate and personal way. It involves the H1N1 flu vaccine … and for many perplexed Americans, the question comes down to this: is the vaccine really a healthy choice? Despite what we’ve heard from public health authorities, some Americans have their doubts.”
In response to the recent change in way clinicians, public health practitioners, and lay-people obtain information, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently introduced utilizing social media outlets to help communicate to the public. These public health messages promote the seasonal and pandemic flu shots as the best weapon an individual has against contracting the flu. This integration might have came a little too late. Recent polls have shown a low rate of compliance with obtaining a flu shot for themselves and for their children. Even though there has been many public health messages communicating the importance of the flu shot this season, 66% of adults surveyed said they will not receive the H1N1 flu shot, and even though children have an increased risk for complications, 45% of parents said they are not planning to get their child vaccinated (ABC News & Washington Post, 2009).
Bottom Line
The CDC is currently urging those in the healthcare field to integrate social media outlets to communicate to the populations they serve. Listening and interacting with people will help build trust in all health messages.
View this Blog on Disruptive Women of Healthcare
What are people Twittering about the flu shot?
Since October 9th, I have been using Twitter to find messages regarding the flu shot in various cities around the United States. I just completed some preliminary analysis of messages around Indianapolis, Indiana. I sorted each of the 137 messages captured so far in various categories and charted my findings.
Here is what I have found out so far:
Do You Trust the H1N1 Vaccine?
America has a huge distrust in the H1N1 vaccine¹²³… or just any vaccine at all. Why is there such a distrust in government? Does it spawn from the 1976 swine flu vaccine that ’caused’ 500 people to get (and 25 to die from) Guillain-Barre syndrome?¹ Doubt it. Current polls show that people refusing the shot are of the younger population… those not likely to remember the 1976 swine flu pandemic.¹ If I had a guess, I would assume that people distrust the news media, health organizations, and the government. Who are these people telling us what is good for us and what is not? Do you trust ‘them’ or do you trust what you hear from your peers on social media outlets (many of which have similar fears to your own)?
Something needs to be done to cure this distrust. I feel health organizations need to communicate on a level that everyone can interact with, instead of having authoritative position telling us what we are ’advised’ to do. I have been trying to find individuals who work at major health organizations on Twitter… and I haven’t found any yet. Yes, I know their organizations have Twitter outlets that spit out general media filtered messages that come through the pipeline, but who are these people?
This is why my thesis is focusing on what people are saying about the H1N1 & seasonal vaccine. What are the positive things, and more importantly what are the negative things? By understanding what the population is thinking, we can truly create a “listen-first” campaign. Not just telling people what they NEED to do, but relating to their fears with a real voice.
It is a wonderful time to be a Masters of Public Health student. For the first time we can truly listen to what our ‘target population’ thinks about health topics. As the popularity social media increases, along with the research tools we can analyze these messages, we are closer to better serving our population.
1. Many Americans Still Leery of Swine Flu Vaccine – Yahoo Health
2. Swine Flu Vaccinations Start as Officials Attack Myths – The New York Times
3. CDC Official Downplays H1N1 Vaccine Risks – Fox News
Brainstorming my Reasearch Project
I need to come up with a project for my Social Media course, and therefore I have been brainstorming how I can relate SM to my thesis topic (Perceived Beliefs of Hospital Staff Regarding the Flu Vaccines). I looked into using Radian6 or Sysomos to research what has been said about the flu vaccines on SM sites… but in all reality, I simply cannot afford to pay $600-$1,000/mo. on such a program.
Off to plan B. I have looked at other free internet resources that also search what has been mentioned on SM sites. All of the free resources are a bit different, none of them having the capabilities as the more expensive ones (unfortunately). The one I liked the most was Twitter Search because I am able to choose my location and hook the results up to an RSS feeder. Although Twitter Search does not look far back in time, I am able to save up to 2500 twitter responses from when I start my feed.
So here is the plan. I am searching 9 cities across the US, and trying to figure out what people are tweeting about the flu shot.
- Positive/Negative Comments?
- Sick from the Shot?
- How many Public Health Messages?
- Any other trends apparent?
I would also like to see the demographics of people who are tweeting about the flu shots.
- Age
- Gender
- Location
I would hopefully like to see the number of negative flu shot comments go down as public health messages go up. Should be pretty interesting, and hopefully I will come up with some useful information.
Comments or suggestions?
Social Media and Technology Breakthroughs: H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Communication
CDC produced a webinar discussing the importance of utilizing the social media outlets to get health messages out to the public. During the first presentation, Marsha Vanderford noted the importance of social media channels in order to reach the younger age groups. It was noted that only 34% of individuals under the age of 25 do not access any type of news media on a daily basis. However 55% of all young people use social media sites, and 75% of can send/receive text messages. Young adults are more at risk for pandemic influenza, and thus targeting them in this way will help to get the message out.
CDC Social Media Webinar
One of the greatest take aways for me is knowing they are currently changing the way they view social media, and urging other organizations to do the same. As stated by Nigel Snoad during his presentation, “The concept of authority is not what it was. It is a much broader concept.” Major health organizations cannot just focus on news outlets to spread the word, but there is a new need for diversifying the message over many social media channels to broaden the accessibility to many.
David Stephenson also stated the importance for emergency agencies to change the way they respond to disasters and make a true partnership with the public. He later discussed how social media systems, if used in a timely manner, can be used by agencies to directly foster emergent behavior in response to a disaster.
Bottom line: Health agencies will have to re-think the ways in which the public receives [and believes] their messages.
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