Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Apr 18, 2019
Open Peer Review Period: Apr 23, 2019 - May 7, 2019
Date Accepted: Jul 29, 2019
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Communicating science in the digital and social media ecosystem: A scoping review and a typology of strategies used by health scientists
ABSTRACT
Background:
The public’s understanding of science can be influential in a wide range of areas related to public health, including policy-making and self-care. Through the digital and social media ecosystem, health scientists play a growing role in science communication (SC) to the public.
Objective:
This review aimed to: 1) synthesize the literature on SC initiated by health scientists targeting the public in the digital and social media ecosystem; 2) describe the SC strategies and communication channels used.
Methods:
This scoping review was based on the Joanna Briggs Institute Methodological Framework. A systematic search was performed in 6 databases (January 2000—April 2018). Screening, full-text review, data charting and critical appraisal were performed independently by two review authors. Data regarding included studies and communication channels was synthesized descriptively. The typology of SC strategies was developed using a qualitative and inductive method of data synthesis.
Results:
Among 960 identified articles, 18 met inclusion criteria. Six publications were scored good quality (31.58%), 9 were scored moderate quality (47.37%), and 3 were scored low quality (15.79%). Overall, 75 SC strategies used by health scientists were identified. These were grouped into 9 types: content, credibility, engagement, intention, linguistics, planification, presentation, social exchange, and statistics. Five types of communication channels were identified: social networking platforms (e.g., Twitter), content-sharing platforms (e.g., YouTube), digital research communities (e.g., ResearchGate), personal blogs and websites, and social news aggregation and discussion platforms (e.g., Reddit).
Conclusions:
Few empirical works have been conducted on SC by health scientists in the digital and social media ecosystem. Evidence suggests multiple types of SC strategies are used concurrently. Future studies should examine the appropriateness and effectiveness of SC strategies for improving public health-related outcomes, and identify the barriers, facilitators and ethical considerations inherent to the involvement of health scientists in the digital and social media ecosystem.
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Copyright
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