The use of Social Media in Health Awareness about Coronavirus Disease: An Applied Study on the Medical Cities and the Government Hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
, Vol.5
, Fourteenth Issue
PP:37
Authors:
Dr. Khalid Faisal Al-Firm-Assistant professor of Mass Communication,,Faculty of Media & Communication,Al Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
Abstract:
The problem of this study is identified in the evaluation of the communicative role of the health institutions in educating about Coronavirus by using the social media as an educational tool in the event of the existence of an epidemic threat represented in Coronavirus. The study aims to identify the level of using and employing the social media’s networks (such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) by the medical cities in Riyadh and their government hospitals in the strategies of health education about Coronavirus. The study also seeks to evaluate the level of participation of the medical cities and their government hospitals in Riyadh as regards the health educational programs in Coronavirus via the social mass media’s networks in Saudi Arabia.
The study has found out that 73% of the medical cities in Riyadh and their government hospitals do not have platforms in the social media’s networks (Twitter, Facebook,..). The study has also shown that 60% of the medical cities in Riyadh did not use these networks in educating about this disease, which indicates the absence of a national health strategy through which all medical cities and their government hospitals can be involved in the national health effort. Besides, the study states the poor employment by the medical cities of modern ccommunication systems for education and communication with the local community, and for consolidating the health culture and preventive medicine. This also indicates a failure to employ the effective communication networks during the eruption of diseases and epidemics, which augments the size of the national losses.
The study recommends the importance of drawing up a national, health and educational strategy to which all the components of the health system can contribute, such as the various government sectors, and the private health sector. The study also recommends the importance of setting up a modern communication system by the medical cities and big hospitals, and the importance of their undertaking of their national duty towards the health education and the use of the new social media’s networks in communication.
Key Words:
Social Media, Health Awareness, Corona virus Disease.
Research Language:
Arabic
The researcher published the paper in other scientific journals with an old date and a later date, which violates the ethics of scientific publishing in the journal. (The Arab Journal of Media and Communication Research at Al-Ahram Canadian University No. 14, 15 2016) http://search.mandumah.com/Record/876420
It was published in an old issue of the Journal of Media Research, Faculty of Mass Communication, Al-Azhar .
University, Volume 42, October 2014
We found out that the Journal had issued an issue with an old date to include the research in it.
http://search.mandumah.com/Record/1234414
|