During the unprecedented public health crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the mpox epidemic, social media platforms emerged as critical communication tools that enabled health officials to deliver timely, widespread information at unmatched speed. A recent pioneering study led by Matthew Boyce, a health policy expert at Texas A&M University School of Public Health, offers a comprehensive content analysis of how Chicago’s Department of Public Health (CDPH) leveraged the social media platform X—known as Twitter at the time—for dissemination of health messages throughout these overlapping emergencies. This research sheds light on both the potential and the limitations of social media as a vector for public health communication in times of crisis.
By systematically analyzing 1,105 original health-related posts published by the CDPH from May 2022 to April 2023, Boyce and his collaborators from Georgetown University and CUNY Graduate School of Public Health meticulously cataloged each message’s characteristics: including posting date, timed release, topical focus, use of media such as images or videos, linguistic approach (English, Spanish, or bilingual posts), and whether the communication was proactive or reactive in nature. This detailed scrutiny allowed a nuanced understanding of the strategic deployment and reception of public health messaging via social media during a complex epidemiological landscape.
One of the pivotal temporal milestones in this study was the introduction of a visibility metric by X on December 15, 2022, which disclosed view counts for posts made thereafter. This addition enabled the research team to quantify public engagement directly, transcending mere follower counts or retweet metrics. Integrating these engagement insights with epidemiological data from the CDPH’s publicly available mpox case reports, the analysts identified positive correlations between public health communications and fluctuations in reported case numbers, highlighting a temporal synchrony between message frequency and outbreak severity.
Intriguingly, the study found that health departments, including CDPH, engaged primarily in one-way communication on X, disseminating information rather than fostering interactive dialogues. This unidirectional flow contrasts sharply with the bidirectional potential social media platforms inherently offer. Boyce emphasized that two-way communication could catalyze higher public trust and serve as a dynamic mechanism to combat the rampant spread of misinformation and disinformation during critical periods of public health emergency response.
From a content engagement perspective, posts incorporating supplemental visual elements—whether images or video—consistently garnered significantly higher public interaction than text-only messages. This finding underscores the critical role of multimedia augmentation in elevating message reach and resonating more deeply with the audience. Notwithstanding, Boyce also stressed the importance of judicious use, highlighting that indiscriminate or excessive reliance on media could dilute core messaging or overwhelm users, thereby diminishing communicative efficacy.
Despite the urgency precipitated by overlapping epidemics, the study revealed a fascinating divergence in public attention and engagement. Posts addressing ongoing crises of COVID-19 and mpox did not dominate user interactions on the platform. Instead, communications pertaining to maternal and child health, mental health, and substance use disorder received substantially greater engagement. This phenomenon suggests the pervasive impact of “pandemic fatigue,” where prolonged exposure to crisis-related content engenders public disinterest or cognitive overload, compelling health departments to diversify their messaging to sustain audience attention and support broader health priorities.
Language choice in public messaging also emerged as a pivotal factor influencing engagement levels. All analyzed CDPH posts were exclusively in English and Spanish, despite Chicago’s rich linguistic diversity. This contrasts with other metropolitan health agencies, such as the Houston Health Department, which deployed multilingual messaging inclusive of Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, alongside English and Spanish. Furthermore, CDPH’s Spanish-language posts elicited significantly lower engagement compared to their English counterparts, illuminating gaps in language accessibility and effectiveness that warrant more nuanced outreach strategies to equitably serve multiethnic urban populations.
The study’s mpox-specific communication analysis revealed moderate yet statistically significant positive correlations between the volume of mpox-related posts and reported case prevalence. Unlike manipulative or coercive strategies, the preponderance of these messages aimed to inform and educate the public, reflecting a health communication ethos grounded in transparency and trustworthiness. The strongest correlation occurred when case counts and communications coincided temporally, illustrating responsive public health messaging aligned closely with real-time epidemiological trends—a practice that Boyce commended as critical to outbreak responsiveness and public reassurance.
While the study contributes valuable insights into health communication via social media, Boyce acknowledged several limitations inherent in the research design. The analysis considered textual content embedded within images but excluded video transcription and analysis due to methodological constraints. Constant algorithmic changes on social media platforms rendered longitudinal comparability challenging, and the study did not extend to evaluating the direct impact of communications on actual public behavior, leaving open questions about efficacy beyond engagement metrics. Moreover, findings derived from a single city’s health department’s use of one platform may not generalize universally to other regions, health agencies, or digital environments.
Boyce concluded by advocating a balanced approach to public health communication that recognizes the intrinsic value of social media platforms as rapid dissemination tools, but cautions against overreliance. Complementary strategies spanning traditional media, community outreach, and tailored messaging modalities can better address the complexity and diversity of public health information needs, especially when nuanced content delivery, sustained behavior change, and equitable access are paramount.
This research heralds a critical step forward in understanding how local health authorities can harness digital platforms during intersecting epidemics to more effectively engage communities. It simultaneously challenges public health entities to refine messaging strategies—integrating multimedia, fostering dialogue, and embracing multilingual inclusivity—to counteract misinformation, combat fatigue, and cultivate resilient, informed publics amid ongoing and future health crises.
Subject of Research:
Social media use by public health authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic and mpox epidemic, focusing on communication strategies and public engagement.
Article Title:
Chicago Public Health Department Social Media Communications on Twitter During the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Mpox Epidemic: Cross-Sectional Content Analysis
News Publication Date:
30-Oct-2024
Web References:
DOI Link: 10.2196/68200
Keywords:
Social media, Human health, Public health communication, COVID-19, Mpox, Health policy, Content analysis, Public engagement, Maternal and child health, Mental health, Substance use, Pandemic fatigue
