Dear Neil & HIFA colleagues,
HIFA seeks to improve access to healthcare information, and many of you around the world will be interested in how to make best use of social media to engage patients, whether you're researchers, work in health promotion, belong to health charities or to patient advocacy groups.
I came across this paper via LinkedIn and thought it might be of wider interest despite its focus on Arabic-speaking patients and rheumatic diseases:
Engaging Arabic-Speaking Patients With Rheumatic Diseases Through Social Media: A Multinational Infodemiology Analysis
Ihsane Hmamouchi et al.
Journal of Rheumatology
https://www.jrheum.org/content/jrheum/early/2025/07/25/jrheum.2025-0455....
In the paper the authors "describe the development and implementation of the AAAA [The Arab Adult Arthritis Awareness (AAAA) group] campaigns, focusing on their dissemination through social media, and analyze demographic and performance metrics to assess their effect."
They state "To our knowledge, the AAAA campaign is the first of its kind: the first rheumatologist-led initiative, the first arthritis awareness campaign focused on Arabic-speaking individuals harnessing social media, and the first intervention to evaluate outcomes through multiple metrics. Our findings highlight the importance of contextually relevant content, tailored engagement strategies, and platform-specific optimization."
They conclude "the AAAA campaign successfully leveraged social media across multiple platforms to increase awareness and promote engagement around rheumatic diseases for patients and the general public in Arabic-speaking regions. These results highlight social media’s significant role in health promotion and underscore the need for continued content development, platform diversification, and targeted outreach to sustain long-term engagement of a broad audience."
There are a number of points of learning for those carrying out similar studies, and the limitations they discuss are also of interest. For example, they touch on digital literacy limitations in terms of Zoom/webinars.
I copy the corresponding author and invite further discussion on the HIFA forums (https://www.hifa.org/forums)
Members may also be aware of other papers in this field which they think worth sharing/discussing.
Let's all work towards HIFA's vision: "a world where every person and every health worker has access to the reliable healthcare information they need to protect their own health and the health of others, and is protected from misinformation."
Best wishes
Julie
HIFA profile: Julie N Reza is a UK-based specialist in communications for biosciences, global health & international development (www.globalbiomedia.co.uk). She predominantly works with NGOs and not-for-profit organisations. Previously she was the senior science editor at TDR, based at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva; prior to this she worked at the Wellcome Trust, UK, leading educational projects on international health topics including trypanosomiasis and trachoma. She has a PhD in immunology and a specialist degree in science communication. She also has several years research and postgraduate teaching experience. She is a member of the HIFA Steering Group and HIFA Social Media Working Group. https://www.hifa.org/support/members/julie-n naimareza AT hotmail.com