Title: Hälsa i sociala medier - En kvalitativ studie om hur hälsoinformatörer upplever och påverkas  av hälsobudskap i sociala medier. Title: Health in social media - A qualitative study of how health communicators perceive and are affected by health messages in social media. Author: Anna Hedström Institute: Karlstad University. Faculty of health, nature and engineering sciences. Tutor: Owe Stråhlman Date: 150615 Number of pages: 34 Keywords: eHealth literacy, health communication, health informers, health literacy, health messages, media literacy, social media   Background: With an increased interest in diet and exercise, also health and fitness messages have increased in both traditional and social media. The general guidelines on physical activity and diet are forgotten as training tips increase in the media. Research shows that it is common for individuals to retrieve information from the media when it comes to their own health. In doing so media literacy, health literacy and eHealth literacy becomes increasingly important for health communicators and for those who receive health information.   Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine health communicators’ experiences of health messages in social media, and how they are affected by them.   Method: Qualitative interviews were chosen as a method to collect data. Six individuals participated in the study, four of them were females and two were men. The criterion for participation was to somehow work to inform about health. To analyze the data collected, qualitative contained analysis were used.   Results: The analysis revealed four categories; the health informer experiences of social media content, social media's impact on customers, social media's impact on the health informer work and the health informers use of social media in their work. The results show that health informers experience a certain lack of knowledge among health messages in social media and that many of them are too extreme. These health informers experience that their customers are more well-informed now than a few years ago, due to the use of Facebook, Instagram and blogs. Using social media to search information about diet and exercise is good because it is easily accessible and it is fast, but if one does not have the knowledge of what should be weeded out, these advantages can easily become disadvantages. Respondents feel that it has become a larger equality on diet and exercise that they believe may be due to health messages disseminated on social media. Health communicators can work with to get their customers to be more critical of what they read.   Conclusion: The conclusion of the result is that the health communicators indirectly affected by health messages on social media by their clients that often come with questions about things they read or want help to look like some bloggers they follow. Health communicators work is affected in the way that they need to take advantage of social media to help its customers as well as possible and they must also talk to their customers about the source criticism and that they should focus on what feels good for the customer .

The prevalence of type II diabetes is high among African-American women but research that emphasizes black mothers and their adult daughters is rarely studied in social sciences or communication research. Though existing research addresses various domains of the mother-daughter relationship scant information addresses the significance of talk or the transmission of health information between African-American diabetic mothers and their non-diabetic adult daughters. For that reason, this dissertation investigates information sharing among a sample of African-American mothers with type II diabetes and their non-diabetic adult daughters.This study's two primary research objectives were to: 1. describe whether and how African-American type II diabetic mothers and their non-diabetic adult daughters engage in information sharing about type II diabetes; and to 2. describe whether and how the sharing of health-related communication messages shapes African-American mothers' diabetic health behavior and/or shapes adult non-diabetic daughters' diabetic-related health behavior.This study used a modified grounded theory approach, in which I concurrently collected, coded and analyzed data. While an intention behind grounded theory is to develop theory "from the ground up," I also used the Health Belief Model (HBM) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to inform research questions. I conducted 10 interviewswith members of mother-daughter dyads; two with each mother and two with each daughter. I concluded my interviews with both mother and daughter present, yielding a total of 50 interviews. Dyads were comprised of African-American type II diabetic mothers (age 45 and older) and their non-diabetic adult daughters (age 20 and older) living in New Mexico, Ohio and Kentucky.Information gathered from interviews yielded five patterns of communication used by mothers and daughters to talk about type II diabetes. The patterns encompassed the ongoing ways in which mothers' and daughters' negotiated the illness. This study described this negotiation as a unique "culture" that entailed 1) an historical knowledge of diabetes, 2) a present and personal experiences of living with diabetes and 3) an understanding of the future implication of diabetes for mothers, their adult daughters, and their entire family.This study represents the first step toward understanding the diabetic interaction between mothers and adult daughters living with a chronic illness. Results suggest that mothers and daughters are motivated to talk about diabetes, even though talk does not always address prevention in their health behaviors. This study is useful to inform practitioners of the significance of oral tradition as one mode of transmitting health care information within African-American culture and the value of integrated medical visits, particularly for diabetic mothers and their adult daughters. As well, health communication scholars can use this information to develop, test and implement innovative health education media and message strategies for families and mother-daughter dyads that address diabetic health information.

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Yes / In this report we focus on refugee and asylum seekers views on receiving, understanding and improving messages about public health advice. Refugees and asylum seekers as a group have incomplete access to television and WIFI or data to access the information they need in they way they prefer. Refugees and asylum seekers have constructive suggestions on how to improve key messages so they can be better understood. There is an ongoing risk to refugee and asylum seeker health, and population health if people are unable to receive official messages in a way that is relevant to them. / University of Bradford, NHS England

Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Health communication is one of the interventions used to overcome health issues in society. Behavioural change is a process that relies on influence, and carefully designed messages about a desired outcome. These messages are captured from health communication interventions such as health communication campaigns about HIV/AIDS. This study empirically measured behavioural intention and followed the introduction of the health communication campaigns at the University of Limpopo (UL) campus amongst students from all faculties. In order to evaluate these campaigns, a positivist research paradigm was chosen, and the quantitative approach was used to measure and determine the relationship between the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The constructs (or predictor variables) of the TPB model are deterministic of behavioural change. They work together to achieve change in behaviour, where the outcome variable is the behavioural intention. This study used the TPB model to guide the literature and methodology when it came to the formulation of questions for data collection. The target population sampled was aged between 18 and 28, and all the participants belonged to various schools across all faculties at the University of Limpopo. The researcher used of the Stratified random sampling method which is classified under probability sampling; 401 questionnaires were coded, and analysed. SPSS® version 25 was used to analyse the data. The results were-drawn descriptively and inferentially. This was done in order to define the relationship between the theory’s variables. The researcher used both Pearson Correlations and Regression Analysis to define the relationship between the variables. Descriptively, the majority of 148 (36.9%) participants strongly agreed while 174 (43.4%) agreed that they intended to participate in health communication campaigns in the future, as the predictor variable. Inferential findings showed that the behavioural intention variable amongst the students proved to be the one that contributed most towards behavioural change. The researcher suggests that further research should focus on message development. Health campaign messages should be developed that trigger intention, in order to achieve behavioural change for individuals so that they can ultimately participate in health campaigns.

Sammanfattning Instagram är en digital mötesplats, där människor interagerar via bilder och text. I detta sociala sammanhang uppstår möjligheter för användarna att jämföra sig med varandra i relation till de hälsonormer och hälsobudskap som råder på Instagram. Samtidigt ses ett globalt växande hälsoproblem i form av psykisk ohälsa, där tidigare forskning har påvisat en tydlig koppling mellan användning av Instagram och negativa konsekvenser för användarnas psykiska hälsa. Syftet med studien var att beskriva hur Instagramanvändare uppfattar att hälsonormer och hälsobudskap framställs på Instagram. Vidare var syftet att belysa hur Instagramanvändare uppfattar att dessa hälsonormer och hälsobudskap påverkar deras hälsa och syn på hälsa.Sociokulturellt perspektiv och hälsolitteracitet utgjorde studiens teoretiska referensram. Studien har en socialkonstruktivistisk utgångspunkt med en abduktiv ansats. Den empiriska datainsamlingen grundades i tio intervjuer som analyserades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Studiens resultat visade att Instagramanvändarna uppfattade att hälsobudskap framställdes genom ensidiga hälsonormer, där hälsa gestaltades utifrån ett snävt perspektiv. Detta kunde medföra en uppfattning av att hälsa var svårt att uppnå, samt bidra till en önskan om att uppnå den “perfekta” kroppen och det “perfekta” livet som användarna uppfattade framhölls på Instagram. Vidare upplevde vissa en negativ påverkan på deras psykiska mående, eftersom den snäva hälsosynen kunde medföra känslor av otillräcklighet. Studiens slutsats är att användarna uppfattar att hälsonormer och hälsobudskap på Instagram framhålls genom en snäv syn på hälsa, och att detta kan påverka användarnas syn på hälsa såväl som deras hälsa negativt. / Abstract Instagram is a digital meeting ground where people interact with each other through pictures and texts. In this social context, users can easily compare themselves to others through the health messages and health standards which Instagram gives prominence to. Meanwhile, global health issues regarding mental illness continue to grow, where studies have shown a clear connection between the use of Instagram and a negative impact on the users’ mental health status. The purpose of the study was to describe how Instagram users perceive health norms and health messages are presented on Instagram. Furthermore, the purpose was to shed light on how Instagram users perceive that these health norms and health messages affect their health and view on health. The theoretical frame of reference was based on the Sociocultural perspective and health literacy. The study is based on a social constructivist point of view with an abductive approach. The empirical data collection was based on ten interviews analyzed through a qualitative content analysis. The result of the study showed that health messages generally were perceived to be mediated through unilateral health standards, portraying health from an insular perspective. This could make some users feel a need to strive towards the ideal of the “perfect” body and the “perfect” life portrayed on Instagram. Furthermore, some users experienced a negative effect on their mental health due to feelings of inadequacy as a result of the narrow-minded health views portrayed. The conclusion to the study is that the users of Instagram perceive the health standards and health messages on Instagram to mediate an insular perspective to health and that this negatively affects the health view as well as the actual health of some Instagram users.

Denna studie utgår från socialkonstruktivism som belyser sociala beteenden, som är konstruerade och där individer skapar mening genom att samspela med varandra. Datorer, Internet och Digitala medier tar en alltmer större plats i barn och ungdomars liv då de växer upp i en alltmer digitaliserad värld till skillnad från tidigare generationer. Syftet med studien är att utifrån socialkonstruktivism belysa hur hälsobudskap framträder i hälsobloggar kring lärande om hälsa. Frågeställningar: Hur framställs hälsobudskapen kring kropp, träning och kost som skrivs av unga killar respektive tjejer? Vilka hälsoråd ger bloggarna till läsarna?Teorier som användes i studien är socialkonstruktivism, sociokulturellt perspektiv, praktikgemenskap samt Hälsism Metod som används i denna studie är netnografi och konventionell innehållsanalys. Netnografi användes för att observera dagliga bloggars uppdateringar under en tre veckors period medan konventionell kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att bearbeta insamlad dataempiri. Resultatet i studien visar att bloggars hälsobudskap handlar om att se en vältränad kropp som ett mål, dvs. ett kvitto för hälsa där både kroppens utseende och funktion är viktiga i förmedlingen i att uppnå hälsa. Hälsoråd om träning ges i olika variationer genom hänvisningar till olika digitala verktyg och detta för att öka kunskap bland läsare. Samtidigt handlar dessa råd om att kost handlar ofta om att äta nyttigt, dvs. vara vegetarian eller vegan. / This study is based on social constructivism that highlights socially constructed behaviors where individuals create meaning by interacting with each other. Computers, Internet and Digital media all overshadows a great part of children and young people's lives, because they are growing up in a more and more increasingly digitized world, unlike previous generations.The purpose of the study from a social constructivism perspective is to illustrate how health messages appear in health blogs from a gender perspective. Questions: How is health messages rendered out regarding body, exercise and diet written by young boys and girls? What type of health advice is shared by the bloggers? Theories used in the study is social constructivism, social perspectives, communities of practice and Healthism. Methods used in this study is cyber-ethnography and conventional content analysis. Cyber-ethnography was used to observe the daily blog updates over a three week period while the conventional qualitative content analysis was used to process the collected empirical data. The results of the study show that the health messages from blogs displays the body as a goal, ie, a form of receipt for health where both body appearance and function are important factors in the process of achieving health. Health advice on training is given in different variations by referring to various digital tools in order to increase knowledge among readers. At the same time the advice concerns dieting, it shows that eating healthy also/often means being a vegetarian or vegan.

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