Can social media extend the reach of public health messages?

Increasing the exposure of public health messages is critical. This is particularly the case for mosquito-borne disease where advice on personal protection measures often informs the first line of defence against biting mosquitoes. Traditional media has been the mainstay of communication efforts by local authorities but could the use of social media provide a new vehicle for disseminating information and engaging with the wider community? The aims of this study were to determine if promotion and engagement via social media influenced how online information is accessed. A range of social media platforms, particularly Twitter, were employed to disseminate public health messages and engage the community and traditional media outlets. The total weekly exposure of “tweets” was measured for six months with approximately 40,000 people per week received tweets with maximum exposure of almost 190,000 people in a single week. Engagement with the accounts of traditional media (e.g. radio, print, television, online) was found to be the main route to increased exposure and, subsequently, to increased access of public health information online. With the increasing accessibility of the community to online resources via smartphones, researchers and public health advocates must develop strategies to effectively use social media. Many people now turn to social media as a source of news and information and those in the field of public health, as well as entomological research more generally, must take advantage of these new opportunities.