Biography:

Dr. Philip M. Massey, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in Community Health Sciences in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. His health communication scholarship focuses on media and technology in the U.S. and globally, on topics ranging from social media, vaccine communication, health literacy, entertainment education, and ethics in social media research. His work takes a mixed-methods approach focusing on health and media literacy in the context of multiple media environments. He has examined patterns and shifts in public opinion toward HPV vaccination on Twitter and Instagram, focusing on what types of messages are shared and how content is related to reach and impact. He has also developed and tested cancer prevention messages on social media to engage parents about the HPV vaccine, leveraging the power of narrative engagement and storytelling, and more recently extended this work to alcohol recovery. His global health work has examined the impact of media effects on health knowledge and attitudes, specifically related to storytelling and narrative engagement among a West African population, utilizing digital and social media.

“Social Media as a Tool for Public Health Communication”

Abstract:

The use of social media in public health has advanced the field dramatically over the last two decades. Traditional public health methods in surveillance and outbreak investigation, approaches in health education and promotion, and strategies in policy, advocacy and community organizing have all been applied, refined, and adapted for the social media environment. This talk will focus on social media as a tool for public health communication and will cover various examples from applied research on the HPV vaccine and global health. Ethical considerations will also be discussed as guidelines when using social media for public health research must also expand alongside these increasing capabilities and uses.