Leveraging Social Media and Digital Tools to Increase Access to Women’s Health in Washington, D.C

Full Description:

Background: The Title V needs assessment conducted by the Washington, D.C (D.C) Department of Health (DOH) determined that improving women’s reproductive health was a priority. D.C has a unique public health profile due to the diverse and densely packed population in an area with a plethora of health resources and a robust DOH, while still lacking sufficient access to these resources. Though there is a surplus of medical centers and resources for women, there is a disconnect between what is available and what is accessible to vulnerable populations. There is a need to reach these vulnerable populations that have been historically overlooked and underserved. The purpose of this project was to analyze the current resources available to women in D.C and evaluate how public health information was disseminated, with the intent of formulating a recommendation of a digital media campaign to increase the uptake and awareness of well-woman visits and prenatal care.

Methods: The status quo for healthcare resources aimed at improving women's health in D.C was assessed by performing a community scan of the current resources available to women in all wards of the district. An analysis of the current literature surrounding the use of digital media tools for the dissemination of public health information/campaigns was then performed. The resulting summary of knowledge was synthesized and recommendations for improved public health outreach were made. This summary included the creation of a report for the future utilization of the department of health, as well as sample bilingual Instagram posts with their respective captions as examples for a potential social media campaign.

Results: There were 46 resources available to women found during the community scan, including clinics, community health centers, programs, and support. We found and reviewed 51 items of relevant published literature to implement informed recommendations on the use of social media and digital tools to increase access and encourage health promotion. There is a gap in what is available versus what is accessible to women in D.C, and the DOH has the potential to close these gaps given consideration of the literature and appropriate use of digital media tools.

Conclusion: The use of hashtags, the dissemination of easily digestible information in a relevant format, and the use of differentialized material for various target audiences are all tools that the DOH can utilize with social media to increase their reach to meet their goals. To continue this project, there are a few key plans, including continuing the work of the project with interns for students seeking practicum-like experiences as well as with the DC Youth Advisory Council. They will pilot test this strategy and messages with two new Title V grantee organizations focused on the well-woman visits National Performance Measure and coordinate with the Office of Communications to try to implement the messaging once pilot tested.

Abbreviated Description: