Social Media and Environmental Health Crises: An Examination of Public Response to Imported Drywall and Perchlorate Health Risks

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis: As social media burgeon as a vital source of public opinion on a wide range of issues, social media’s effectiveness in disseminating health information and in assessing common perceptions of health risks remain unknown to many health communications professionals. In the event of environmental health crises and growing public concerns, as in the case of imported drywall and perchlorate, communicators must determine how to incorporate social media into their management strategies through the assessment of key online channels, levels of engagement, cycling of messages, and common beliefs and attitudes pertaining to the event or issue.

Methods: We present a research study utilizing innovative methods to evaluate the use of websites allowing for user-contributed content, including blogs, discussion boards, media sources, and commonly used social networks (i.e., Facebook). On the basis of an in-depth analysis of toxicological profiles of imported drywall and perchlorate, we developed a set of keywords used in online searches, selecting a random sample of posts for a content analysis. The content analysis focused on the public’s opinions pertaining to the health risks of imported drywall and the impact of perchlorate on baby formula. This study also includes a trend analysis of other key terms related to the environmental issues to assess the emphasis of public attention (i.e., remediation and imported drywall). 

Results: The preliminary findings illustrate the need to evaluate the use of social media in the development of strategies to address environmental health crises and concerns, as not all issues receive the same level of engagement or demonstrate widespread misperception of risks. Indicators in the determination of social media tactics may include the context of the event or issue and intensity of coverage in traditional media. The examination of how messages have been reframed and disseminated also highlights the need to monitor social media to inform the creation of new or revision of existing messages.

Conclusions:   The research analysis underscores the necessity to evaluate the potential effectiveness of social media for the dissemination of health information and management of crises in the development of communication strategies.

Implications for research and/or practice: We will present findings pertaining to the use of social media and public opinion of current environmental health concerns that would apply to a range of other health issues with similar contexts. The discussion of the research method will also offer innovative strategies to evaluate the growing field of health communications through social media.