Social Media for Community Health Centres

• Social Media Support Resources
  
  
• CHC Chat - A weekly discussion forum

Social media are important tools for non-profit organizations. They include social networking tools like blogs, Facebook and Twitter; video sharing resources like YouTube; and other interactive, Internet-based resources. These tools enable organizations to better connect with the individuals and communities they serve, as well as community partners.

This applies equally to health and healthcare organizations, including Community Health Centres. In fact, social media are a natural extension of the Community Health Centre mandate to reach out and engage individuals, families and communities to improve health and access to health care! Social media are not a new thing for your CHC “to do”. They are about an evolution in the way that your CHC goes about doing the things you already do, placing important new tools to use.

The concept behind social media is often referred to as “Web 2.0”. This is a way of saying that we have moved from “Web 1.0” where we used the Internet simply as a way to present static or one-way information (e.g. your CHC's basic website) toward more dynamic, interactive and participant-driven communication and engagement via the Internet.

Social media allow users to interact with each other and contribute to dialogue about issues that are important to health, including access to appropriate health care. The social media journey is a shared journey, and it will evolve over time. The key is to get started and to continue evolving your social media strategy to improve client and community engagement for health!