Using creative Facebook posts to engage patients
12:49 29.04.2019
Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Kate Lilley explains how they have increased flu uptake through the creative use of Facebook.
Many people have had experience of Facebook for personal use, or know of people who have used it, and feel that it is inappropriate for serious work. Certainly, many personal pages seem to contain largely trivial, often emotional material about pets, eating out, and pouting photos.
Using Facebook for serious health purposes is an extremely effective way of communicating with people who often ignore other forms of communication, or people with whom health professionals fail to engage as well as they would like. So if you are sceptical, just have a look at some of the following examples of how Facebook is being used, and think whether your current practice is as inclusive and engaging as it could be.
Facebook is being used to advertise practices, give opening times, services offered, which is done either as notices or sometimes as videos. A great example of this is Furlong Medical Practice in Tunstall – you can view a video of this below.
Having set up the page, there are a number of options which can make your page interesting to readers. You may want to post notices about ‘Flu vaccinations, advice for hot weather, Ramadan, or smear tests. Some animations have been used to inform patients about services, such as the North Staffordshire Bowel Cancer Screening Programme animation (found below), telling patients about alternatives to seeing the GP or going to A&E.
Below are a selection of videos showing how clinicians are using Facebook to engage with patients and get important messages across to people using a channel that is easy to access.
Facebook can be used by Patient Participation Groups, either to advertise events, or to actually have a ‘closed’ virtual group, in parallel to the existing PPG, but accessed by a different age /occupational group in the practice from the predominantly retired population who often attend the daytime meetings. Some example videos who how it is being done.
The demographics of Facebook users are interesting, with increasing numbers of over-65 year olds regularly using the site for personal reasons. This is a medium which people of all age groups feel comfortable with, and if health professionals ignore this trend, they will communicate with their population less effectively.
12:49 29.04.2019
Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Kate Lilley explains how they have increased flu uptake through the creative use of Facebook.
12:47 29.04.2019
Dr Ruth Chambers discusses how the use of Facebook in practices is developing across Staffordshire.
12:37 29.04.2019
Dominic explains how he found support from a cancer support network on Facebook!
17:26 29.10.2018
David Hardy, Audley Health Centre’s PPG Chair, talks about how Facebook live can be used by practices and PPGs to engage with patients.
15:30 20.09.2018
Furlong Medical Centre in Stoke on Trent used Facebook to share important information and engage with the public.
11:23 03.09.2018
The Breast Screening Service in Staffordshire has been using Facebook to promote their service and has had some great success already!
10:20 12.06.2018
This video shows how Facebook has been used as a tool to share the message of breast screening, through accessing existing online communities and hard to reach groups!
17:45 30.04.2018
Chris Chambers provides some more interesting updates on Facebook in general practices.
17:31 30.04.2018
The Closed Facebook Group presentation showcases the support Facebook offers to Maternity Services.
14:42 30.04.2018
There is a lot of support that Facebook offers to people with AF in Staffordshire.
00:01 26.02.2018
A 2011 report from Susannah Fox from Pew Internet on Peer to Peer Healthcare surveyed people with chronic health conditions on their use of social media.
23:42 25.02.2018
Patients who are being treated by the cardiac Rehabilitation team in North Staffordshire are being supported by Facebook and its proving very popular.
22:30 25.02.2018
Laura talks about her Type 1 diabetes and how social media and online communities for diabetes have helped her to learn about and manage her health.
22:56 22.02.2018
Jodie, a Stroke Prevention Nurse from Royal Stoke Hospital, discusses the support that can be offered to patients with AF through Facebook.
22:51 22.02.2018
Nurse Jodie Williams and atrial fibrillation patient Christopher Upton discuss the uses and impact of Facebook for managing long term health conditions like AF.
22:24 22.02.2018
Audley Surgery’s PPG Chair, David Hardy, explains what PPGs do, how people can get involved, and what his thoughts are on the future practice and impact of these groups.
22:23 22.02.2018
In this video, Ashley Surgery discusses how Facebook and social media as a whole can benefit patient participation groups (PPGs).
11:32 22.02.2018
This infographic illustrates some key figures for how Facebook has impacted digital healthcare across North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
09:34 14.02.2018
Professional use of social media – some do’s and don’ts.
19:13 30.01.2018
Clinicians and a cardiac rehabilitation patient discuss the power of Facebook to help in managing your health.
19:09 30.01.2018
Nurses and patients discuss how closed Facebook groups are helping patients manage Atrial Fibrillation and Multiple Sclerosis.
10:15 23.01.2018
North Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent CCGs, in partnership with Redmoor Health, have been using social media to engage with pregnant women and new mums and dads in the area.
14:16 22.01.2018
Healthcare teams at Royal Stoke University Hospital have launched an innovative approach to supporting patients by developing self care videos and Facebook groups for clinicians to provide accurate valuable self care information to patients with the condition.
11:34 22.01.2018
This is a great article from one of the health professionals at Royal Stoke Hospital who we have been working with to develop the use of Facebook to support patients.