Protecting Public Health in a Social Media World: Policy Responses to Online Threats

Abstract

Context: Emerging and unique threats to health exist in the social media landscape and can be exhibited on agency-sponsored websites if not managed appropriately. Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify important elements of a social media policy for agencies as informed by existing policies in healthcare and government/nonprofit agencies. Design: A content analysis of 21 social media policies was conducted. Common provisions, guidelines, rules and obligations were identified using an open coding technique. Results: A total of 62% of policies included aspects of an internal social media policy while 52% included aspects of an external social media policy. Four thematic categories were identified for internal policies and five for external. Conclusions: Thematic categories exist for both internal and external social media policies that can provide public health agencies with a starting point for social media policy development.