Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021;17(2):137-143.
doi: 10.2174/1573403X15666191120115107.

Patient Education and Engagement through Social Media

Sravya Chirumamilla  1 , Martha Gulati  2
Affiliations
Review

Patient Education and Engagement through Social Media

Sravya Chirumamilla et al. Curr Cardiol Rev. 2021.

Abstract

This review addresses the demographics of social media users and their relative health literacy. Means of overcoming health inequities via social media and the role of social media in patient education and engagement are explored. This review discusses forms of appropriate patient engagement, including the pitfalls of social media use.

Keywords: Patient education; consumer health information; health information needs; health literacy.; online health information; social media.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. (1)
Fig. (1)
Patient Education and Advocacy Through Social Media: CardioSmart.org Platforms such as the American College of Cardiology’s CardioSmart.org offer engaging and accessible patient education tools, such as this graphic available for download regarding women’s heart disease. Ref: https://www.cardiosmart.org/Heart-Conditions/Women-and-Coronary-Artery-Disease (A higher resolution / colour version of this figure is available in the electronic copy of the article).
Fig. (2)
Fig. (2)
Social media for patients.
Fig. (3)
Fig. (3)
Social media use to improve health literacy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Horrigan J. Home broadband adoption 2009. Pew Research Center; 2009.
    1. Kutner M.G.E., Jin Y., Paulsen C. 2003 http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=20064832006
    1. Adler N.E., Rehkopf D.H.U.S. disparities in health: descriptions, causes, and mechanisms. Annu. Rev. Public Health. 2008;29(29):235–252. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090852. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arcaya M.C., Figueroa J.F. Emerging trends could exacerbate health inequities in the United States. Health Aff. (Millwood) 2017;36(6):992–998. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kickbusch I.S. Health literacy: addressing the health and education divide. Health Promot. Int. 2001;16(3):289–297. doi: 10.1093/heapro/16.3.289. - DOI - PubMed