Dataset Information

The challenge of social networking in the field of environment and health.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The fields of environment and health are both interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary, and until recently had little engagement in social networking designed to cross disciplinary boundaries. The EU FP6 project HENVINET aimed to establish integrated social network and networking facilities for multiple stakeholders in environment and health. The underlying assumption is that increased social networking across disciplines and sectors will enhance the quality of both problem knowledge and problem solving, by facilitating interactions. Inter- and trans-disciplinary networks are considered useful for this purpose. This does not mean that such networks are easily organized, as openness to such cooperation and exchange is often difficult to ascertain.

Methods

Different methods may enhance network building. Using a mixed method approach, a diversity of actions were used in order to investigate the main research question: which kind of social networking activities and structures can best support the objective of enhanced inter- and trans-disciplinary cooperation and exchange in the fields of environment and health. HENVINET applied interviews, a role playing session, a personal response system, a stakeholder workshop and a social networking portal as part of the process of building an interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary network.

Results

The interviews provided support for the specification of requirements for an interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary network. The role playing session, the personal response system and the stakeholder workshop were assessed as useful tools in forming such network, by increasing the awareness by different disciplines of other's positions. The social networking portal was particularly useful in delivering knowledge, but the role of the scientist in social networking is not yet clear.

Conclusions

The main challenge in the field of environment and health is not so much a lack of scientific problem knowledge, but rather the ability to effectively communicate, share and use available knowledge for policy making. Structured social network facilities can be useful by policy makers to engage with the research community. It is beneficial for scientists to be able to integrate the perspective of policy makers in the research agenda, and to assist in co-production of policy-relevant information. A diversity of methods need to be applied for network building: according to the fit-for-purpose-principle. It is useful to know which combination of methods and in which time frame produces the best results.Networking projects such as HENVINET are created not only for the benefit of the network itself, but also because the applying of the different methods is a learning tool for future network building. Finally, it is clear that the importance of specialized professionals in enabling effective communication between different groups should not be underestimated.

SUBMITTER: van den Hazel P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3388437 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The challenge of social networking in the field of environment and health.

van den Hazel Peter P Keune Hans H Randall Scott S Yang Aileen A Ludlow David D Bartonova Alena A

Environmental health : a global access science source 20120628

<h4>Background</h4>The fields of environment and health are both interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary, and until recently had little engagement in social networking designed to cross disciplinary boundaries. The EU FP6 project HENVINET aimed to establish integrated social network and networking facilities for multiple stakeholders in environment and health. The underlying assumption is that increased social networking across disciplines and sectors will enhance the quality of both problem kn ...[more]

PMID: 22759497

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Project description:BACKGROUND:The onset of mental health problems peaks between adolescence and young adulthood; however, young people face barriers to treatment and are often reluctant to seek professional help. Many are instead seeking support and information regarding their mental health via the Web, especially via social networking sites (SNSs), and hence, there is a promising opportunity to use SNSs to deliver or integrate with youth-focused online mental health interventions. Previous reviews have evaluated the effectiveness of SNSs for specific disorders in young people; however, none of the reviews have covered the breadth of SNS-based youth mental health interventions available across all mental health issues. OBJECTIVE:This review aimed to systematically identify available evidence regarding the use of SNS-based interventions to support the mental health of young people aged up to 25 years, to evaluate their effectiveness, suitability, and safety, and identify gaps and opportunities for future research. METHODS:The PubMed and PsycINFO databases were searched using Medical Subject Headings terms and exploded keywords and phrases. Retrieved abstracts (n=974) were double screened, yielding 235 articles for screening at the full-text level. Of these, 9 articles met the review inclusion criteria. Given the small number of studies, and the variety of outcome measures used, a quantitative meta-analysis was not possible. RESULTS:The 9 articles (quantitative studies, qualitative studies, and descriptions of the iterative design process) covered 5 separate interventions. Of the 5 interventions, 2 interventions used purpose-built platforms based on the moderated online social therapy (MOST) model, 2 used Facebook, and 1 evaluated a purpose-built mobile app. The 2 MOST interventions targeted specific mental health issues (depression and psychosis), whereas the others focused on improving mental health literacy, social support, and general well-being. Only 3 quantitative studies were identified, and all used a pre-post design (without a control group) to establish proof of concept. Of the outcome variables assessed, there were significant improvements in mental health knowledge and number of depressive symptoms but no improvement in anxiety or psychosis symptoms. Acceptability of and engagement with the SNS platforms were generally high, as were perceptions of usefulness and safety. Moderation by clinical experts was identified as a key component of the more successful interventions. When offered a choice, users showed a preference for mobile apps over Web-based interfaces. CONCLUSIONS:The evidence reviewed suggests young people find SNS-based interventions highly usable, engaging, and supportive. However, future studies need to address the current lack of high-quality evidence for their efficacy in reducing mental health symptoms. Given young people are already turning to SNSs to engage in knowledge seeking and peer-to-peer support, SNS-based youth mental health interventions provide an opportunity to address some of the barriers young people face in accessing qualified mental health support and information.

Project description:BackgroundIn recent years social networking sites (SNSs) have grown rapidly in popularity. The popularity of these sites, along with their interactive functions, offer a novel environment in which to deliver health promotion messages. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which SNSs are currently being used for sexual health promotion and describe the breadth of these activities.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search of published scientific literature, electronic sources (general and scientific search engines, blogs) and SNSs (Facebook, MySpace) to identify existing sexual health promotion activities using SNSs. Health promotion activities were eligible for inclusion if they related to sexual health or behaviour, utilised one or more SNSs, and involved some element of health promotion. Information regarding the source and type of health promotion activity, target population and site activity were extracted.Results178 sexual health promotion activities met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review; only one activity was identified through a traditional systematic search of the published scientific literature. Activities most commonly used one SNS, were conducted by not-for-profit organisations, targeted young people and involved information delivery. Facebook was the most commonly used SNS (used by 71% of all health promotion activities identified), followed by MySpace and Twitter. Seventy nine percent of activities on MySpace were considered inactive as there had been no online posts within the past month, compared to 22% of activities using Facebook and 14% of activities using Twitter. The number of end-users and posts in the last seven days varied greatly between health promotion activities.ConclusionsSNSs are being used for sexual health promotion, although the extent to which they are utilised varies greatly, and the vast majority of activities are unreported in the scientific literature. Future studies should examine the key factors for success among those activities attracting a large and active user base, and how success might be measured, in order to guide the development of future health promotion activities in this emerging setting.

Dataset Information

The challenge of social networking in the field of environment and health.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The challenge of social networking in the field of environment and health.

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