Tools For Thought - Intelegia

My colleague, Aicha Habiby, who blogs at Des Outils et Des Hommes, informed me on the use of social media tools to push health information to citizens.

The Public Health Agency of Canada provides health information in regards to the H1N1 flu via the following five Web 2.0 applications:

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds allows the agency to disseminate information via users’ RSS readers.  As seen in Figure 1, there are four topics covered as of December 15th, 2009.

• H1N1 Flu Virus (Human Swine Flu)
• Travel Health Advisories
• Canada Communicable Disease Report (CCDR)
• Chronic Diseases in Canada (CDIC)

Figure 1: Public Health Agency Of Canada’s RSS Feeds

Widgets

To help citizens access information easily, the agency has created a widget in which individuals can plug into a website, blog or a social media platform.  Figure 2 presents a look at the widget and the content that is updated in real time supply information about the H1N1 flu.

Figure 2: Public Health Agency Of Canada’s Widget For H1N1 Information

Twitter

Figure 3 illustrates the agency’s Twitter page with 1,433 followers.  Browsing the past tweets, the agency disseminates information on the H1N1 Flu.

Figure 3: Public Health Agency Of Canada’s Twitter For H1N1 Information

Facebook

The content of the agency’s Facebook Fan Page is divided amongst the following four sections:

• Wall - The wall offers access to links to current news and information about the H1N1 flu.
• Info - Fans have access to links to Public Health Agency of Canada and Fightflu websites in English and French.
• Notes - The Notes section offers general information on the H1N1 flu with the ability to have fans to post comments.
• H1N1 Information Centre - This section is the one-stop shop for H1N1 information.  The resource is divided into 10 activity modules as seen in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Public Health Agency Of Canada’s H1N1 Information Centre on Facebook

YouTube

The agency’s YouTube Channel is composed of a series of bilingual videos regarding H1N1 Flu and on-going initiatives to keep the public health.  The video below is a short 30 second clip about the H1N1 Immunization Campaign.