Communicating Science and Health

The article that I opted to focus on in this case is titled Harnessing Social Media for Health Promotion and Behavior Change, by Holly Korda and Zeda Itani. The said article was published in the Health Promotion Journal in 2013. In the subsequent sections of this text, I will explore the approach embraced in the development of the article summary for the general public. In so doing, I will rely on the NIH tool christened A Checklist for Communicating Science and Health Research to the Public (National Institutes of Health NIH, 2022).

a) Setting the Stage

In seeking to summarize the research piece for the general public, there would be need to first set the stage. To begin with, in the present undertaking, I would ensure that readers are aware of the need to deploy the appropriate strategies to guarantee the effectiveness of social media in efforts to promote health as well as behavior change. Next, I would also ensure that readers are aware of the research context, i.e. in relation to contemporary viewpoints. There would also be need to see to it that simple and easy to understand language is used, and that tone that could be deemed respectful is embraced. With regard to the latter consideration, this would involve being culturally aware and taking deliberate steps to ensure that the tone or language utilized does not in any way promote stigmatization or stereotypes against groups or persons. Next, there would also be need to incorporate expert quotes that explain the relevance of the research in laymans terms.

What is not yet clear about the subject matter also ought to be indicated, i.e. in relation to the study gaps that exist about this particular topic. It is also important to note that as has been indicated in the primary National Institutes of Health resource highlighted above, the chosen language ought to be clearly highlighted. This is especially important to ensure that readers do not derive or assign an incorrect meaning to the contents of the article. For this reason, effort should be made to exclude phrases as well as words that, for instance, are potentially offensive, likely to give false...…powerful medium for health promotion, there is need to be aware of the various barriers to the effective deployment of social media on this front. The said barriers are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; how to measure meaningful engagement, insufficient data linking costs and benefits of the utilization of this particular medium, etc. Knowledge of these barriers could come in handy in efforts to deploy strategies to rein in the same. This would be especially beneficial given that there is consensus that social media brings a new dimension to health care as it offers a medium to be used by the public, patients, and health professionals to communicate about health issues with the possibility of potentially improving health outcomes (Moorhead, Hazlett, Harrison, Carroll, Irwin, and Hoving, 2013). In the present study, the authors conduct a comprehensive review of available literature and draw evidence from various disciplines to arrive at their findings. They, thus, deploy a literature review research method. This research type could be deemed one of the study limitations on this front owing to the fact that no overall…