Reaching Healthcare Providers: Gaining Traction through the Use of Digital Platforms and Social Media

Background: In the United States, approximately 13% of people living with HIV (PLWH) are unaware of their HIV status and, therefore, are not linked to care or treatment. Furthermore, 60% of the total number of PLWH are not in care. As part of the HIV continuum, diagnosis, linkage to care, and ongoing treatment are critical. Health care providers (HCPs) can intervene throughout the continuum by facilitating HIV screening, educating patients about HIV prevention and treatment options, and engaging PLWH in care. The important role of HCPs underscores the need to reach this audience with messages that advance the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and promote CDC recommendations.

Program background:  In 2009, the CDC launched Act Against AIDS (AAA), a multifaceted communication initiative to refocus attention on domestic HIV/AIDS. Within AAA, there are two social marketing campaigns that specifically target HCPs – HIV Screening. Standard Care. (HSSC) and Prevention IS Care (PIC). HSSC encourages HCPs to integrate HIV screening as a routine part of medical care, whereas PIC seeks to equip HCPs who treat PLWH with science-based information, resources, and tools to help patients stay healthy and prevent transmission to partners. Successful health communication strategies with HCPs have historically relied on traditional tactics, such as continuing medical education (CMEs), conferences, and medical journals. As social and digital platforms become increasingly popular among HCPs, outreach for HSSC and PIC expanded to include new media tailored for providers, including podcasts, digital medical education (i.e., Medscape, PlatformQ), and a physician-only social network (i.e., Sermo).

Evaluation Methods and Results:  Data are collected for on an ongoing basis and consist of metrics generated from digital and social media activities, including PIC’s mobile strategies (e.g., Epocrates’ DocAlerts) and HSSC’s social media strategies (e.g., Sermo, Facebook). Metrics include online media impressions, number of e-blasts and the associated open rate, and webpage views (i.e., campaign homepage, Elsevier site). Over a two-year period (January 2014 to December 2015), these provider-focused campaigns garnered 3,843,846 impressions using digital/social media strategies, mostly via paid media opportunities, including internet ads and Facebook buys, and generated 37,693 homepage views. Online orders for materials and homepage views were highest during months when social media strategies to engage HCPs were executed. Engaging providers through two HSSC-focused posts on Sermo produced 4,463 unique physician views, whereas eight HSSC-specific posts on Facebook resulted in 24,215 impressions and reached 1,738 users. PIC’s e-blast strategies were particularly successful among nurses and nurse practitioners (n=5705), achieving a 33% open-rate, while the campaign’s mobile DocAlerts to healthcare providers overall (n=716,091) had an open rate of 14%.

Conclusions:  Incorporating a mix of targeted digital and social media strategies proved beneficial in broadening campaign reach and exposure among HCPs in a cost-efficient manner. Evaluation data demonstrate that such strategies effectively engage HCPs with the campaigns.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Coupling new media with traditional tactics may aid in brand recognition among HCPs and message dissemination to providers we might not otherwise reach with traditional approaches. Formative research and evaluation can aid in determining appropriate media platforms to reach the provider audience, as well as the appropriateness of messaging and materials.