Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T21:29:57.812Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Integrating Social Media Monitoring Into Public Health Emergency Response Operations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2016

Tamer A. Hadi  and
Keren Fleshler
Tamer A. Hadi*
Affiliation:
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response, New York, New York.
Keren Fleshler
Affiliation:
Consumer Reports, Yonkers, New York.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Tamer A Hadi, MS, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response, 42-09 28th Street, 6th Floor, Long Island City, NY 11101-4132 (e-mail: thadi@health.nyc.gov).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Social media monitoring for public health emergency response and recovery is an essential response capability for any health department. The value of social media for emergency response lies not only in the capacity to rapidly communicate official and critical incident information, but as a rich source of incoming data that can be gathered to inform leadership decision-making. Social media monitoring is a function that can be formally integrated into the Incident Command System of any response agency. The approach to planning and required resources, such as staffing, logistics, and technology, is flexible and adaptable based on the needs of the agency and size and scope of the emergency. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has successfully used its Social Media Monitoring Team during public health emergency responses and planned events including major Ebola and Legionnaires’ disease responses. The concepts and implementations described can be applied by any agency, large or small, interested in building a social media monitoring capacity. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 6)

Keywords

social mediapublic healthemergency responseIncident Command System
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 10 , Issue 5 , October 2016 , pp. 775 - 780
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Duggan, M, Ellison, NB, Lampe, C, et al. Social Media Update 2014. Pew Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/social-media-update-2014/. Published January 9, 2015. Accessed February 12, 2016.Google Scholar
2. Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate, First Responders Group Virtual Social Media Working Group. Using Social Media for Enhanced Situational Awareness and Decision Support. http://www.firstresponder.gov/TechnologyDocuments/Using%20Social%20Media%20for%20Enhanced%20Situational%20Awareness%20and%20Decision%20Support.pdf. Published June 2014. Accessed May 11, 2016.Google Scholar
3. Schram, J, Rosario, F, Cohen, S. Doctor who treated Ebola patients rushed to NYC hospital. New York Post. http://nypost.com/2014/10/23/nyc-may-have-its-first-ebola-case/. Published October 23, 2014. Accessed January 29, 2016.Google Scholar
4. McNab, C. What social media offers to health professionals and citizens. Bull World Health Organ. 2009;87:566. doi: 10.2471/BLT.09.066712.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5. Hughes, AL, Palen, L. The evolving role of the public information officer: an examination of social media in emergency management [published online June 21, 2012]. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. 2012;9(1). doi: 10.1515/1547-7355.1976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6. White, CM. Social Media, Crisis Communication, and Emergency Management: Leveraging Web 2.0 Technologies. Florida: CRC Press; 2011.Google Scholar
7. Health Department conducts the largest no-notice emergency response exercise in New York City history. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website. http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr2014/pr025-14.shtml. Published August 1, 2014. Accessed September 10, 2015.Google Scholar
8. Cases of Ebola Diagnosed in the United States. CDC website. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/united-states-imported-case.html. Accessed September 10, 2015.Google Scholar
9. Hughes, AL, Palen, L, Peterson, S. Social media and emergency management. In: Trainor JE, Subbio T, eds. Critical Issues in Disaster Science and Management: A Dialogue Between Researchers and Practitioners. http://www.training.fema.gov/hiedu/docs/critical-issues-in-disaster-science-and-management.pdf. Accessed May 11, 2016.Google Scholar
10. Khorram, Y. As Sandy pounded NYC, fire department worker was a Twitter lifeline. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/tech/social-media/twitter-fdny/. Published November 1, 2012. Accessed September 10, 2015.Google Scholar