I was surprised when I was asked last week to be the host of this week’s Health Care Social Media Review. I do technically have a blog, but I’m much bigger on guest posting than I am on maintaining my own online space. Because honestly… I feel like there’s enough guys like me in the HCSM space, so it’s hard for me to justify taking up more digital space unless I have something important to say. My time spent on the healthcare social media grid is voluntary- I’m not here to market, build leads, find work, etc. I’m here to build community, and I would like the HCSM community to be radically inclusive. To that end, this week I’ve chosen to focus on posts that don’t necessarily represent the typical HCSM crowd, but are groups I wish were reached out to on a more regular basis. These topics are far from comprehensive, but hopefully will shed some light on areas that we as a community may want to think about more:
LGBT Community
When it comes to LGBT issues and healthcare, the typical focus is on HIV prevention. Though it is important,(and AIDS.gov does a great job of outlining how to use social media for this purpose) there’s a lot more to LGBT issues when it comes to health. One issue I was very happy to see addressed this past week was in a post on the FDA’s possible ban on gay men donating sperm. The articles covers more than sperm donation- it addresses the fact that in the US gay men are prohibited from donating blood. To me, blood drives are a constant reminder of inequality, and that the medical community regards the LGBT community as “abnormal” or “risky” by default. Which is something that LGBT youth know all too well, and it wears on them in ways we’re just beginning to fully understand. In another HuffPo piece on the effects of the phrase “That’s So Gay”, it was found in a study conducted by the Journal of American College Health “LGBT students who heard the phrase frequently were more likely to feel isolated and experience headaches, poor appetite or eating problems than those who didn’t.”
These issues are obviously important, and related to the use of healthcare and social media, but I still feel as if we’re not doing enough to use social media as a tool to combat these issues. I’d also like to point out The Network for LGBT Health Equity, an excellent resource for LGBT health issues, put together by one of my favorite Boston orgs, The Fenway Institute.
Global South
So, I wavered between calling this section “Global South” and “Developing Nations”… I don’t feel like either term is particularly accurate or descriptive. However, it had to be named. I feel like there’s a lot more that can be done, though in the past year there have been some excellent starts, particularly Twitter Chats such as #right2health, #occupyhealthcare, #HAchat, and #SDOHchat. There’s lots of articles that have come out recently that cover topics I hope we’re able to cover in more depth within the #HCSM community:
10 Best Tools To Boost mHealth in Africa- Part I & Part II: I hadn’t been aware of this site, but it looks amazing! I’ve been saying for a while that countries without a wired infrastructure have a huge leg up in developing mobile strategies, and this blog is a great window into all the amazing work being done.
Speaking of Africa… Are you following Agnes Binagwaho? She’s amazing! She serves as the Minister of Health of Rwanda and is also a Senior Lecturer of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine of Harvard Medical School. She also hosts #MinisterMondays every two weeks on Twitter where she answers questions and discusses health issues. In addition to all the awesome stuff she’s up to on Twitter, she also blogs, and her recent post, Global Health Solidarity at a Crossroads, is a must read!
Body Positive Community
In the HCSM community I haven’t really seen much positive talk about fat. To me at least, fat is descriptive- not moral. I was pleased to come across 3 articles this week that challenged the status quo when it comes to discussing weight. What started me off was a post over on xojane that took a jab straight to the heart of the matter- For F*#$’s Sake, Fat People Need To Go To The Doctor Too. This was followed with 2 other posts with similar messages: Why Weight Loss Advice May Be Unethical and “Health News” Is Neither Healthy Nor News.
So, those are just a few topics I think could use more bandwidth within the HCSM community. There’s a few more posts I’d like to bring your attention to before closing. These didn’t quite fit into their own category, but are well worth a look!
Childhood Cancer’s Forgotten Moral Imperative
Gimme My Damn Data – Porn Edition
Black, Latino Children Show Health Disparities by Fifth Grade
Thanks so much for tuning in- next up will be Afternoon Napper hosting Healthcare SocialMedia Review.
About NateOsit
About NateOsitNate is your average friendly Health IT geek. Follow his journey through the Health IT landscape in his blog Bio-Digital Jazz or on twitter @nateosit.