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Social Media in Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges

Understand how social media is used in healthcare, to improve communication and information sharing, with this free online course.

14,752 enrolled on this course

Connecting Patients and healthcare professionals through Social media

Social Media in Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges

14,752 enrolled on this course

  • 5 weeks

  • 2 hours per week

  • Accreditation available

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Open level

Find out more about how to join this course

The CPD Certification Service

The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies. Find out more.

Understand how social media is used in healthcare to improve communication.

Social media has emerged as a new channel for both seeking information, and for creating and exchanging user-generated content among peers.

But as the amount of information being uploaded to social networks such as Facebook, Whatsapp or YouTube continues to grow, it is becoming increasingly difficult to discern reliable health information from misleading content.

This course for anyone who is looking into the opportunities and challenges of using social media in healthcare, including as a mass communication tool during infectious disease epidemics.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 25 seconds Welcome to Taipei Medical University, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Taiwan. I am Dr. Shabbir Syed Abdul, glad to offer online course on the role of social media in health care and research.

Skip to 0 minutes and 51 seconds With the advancement in the mobile and communication technologies, we are changing the way we are interacting with the information. Now, we can reach millions of our followers in a matter of a few seconds. Immense amount of data is being uploaded every second. The content can be good or bad. It could be useful or it could be harmful. In this course, we focus on health-related information, opportunities, and challenges to empower care providers, patients, and general public. We cover a broad range of topics like Google trends, Health Map, patientslikeme, Mobile Apps, social generated big data, research challenges and opportunities, health communication crisis, gamification, and so on.

Skip to 2 minutes and 2 seconds We are open, and we share. Please join us.

What topics will you cover?

  • Introduction to social media and networking
  • Social media generated big data
  • Gamification and social media for health behavior change
  • Social media and health communication crisis
  • Use of social media by hospitals and health authorities
  • What can patients do for themselves via social media?

Who is this accredited by?

The CPD Certification Service
The CPD Certification Service:

The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Describe what social media is in the context of healthcare.
  • Interpret what is good or bad through social media.
  • Reflect on the patient's role in modern healthcare ecosystems.

Who is the course for?

This course provides practical guidance to healthcare providers, patients and researchers. It is suitable for anyone who is interested in public health, and using information technology for improving health quality and patients’ safety.

What software or tools do you need?

The course is taught in English but we also offer Traditional Chinese subtitles on the videos.

Who will you learn with?

Dr.Shabbir Syed-Abdul,is an associate professor of Health informatics at Graduate Institute of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan.

I am psychologist, researcher at the Norwegian Center for eHealth Reseach, in Tromsø, Norway; and also professor at the Open University of Catalonia, in Spain.

Luis Fernandez-Luque has been involved in eHealth research and development for over 10 years. He is researcher at www.qcri.org & co-funder of Salumedia. https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisfernandezluque

Dave deBronkart, better known as "e-Patient Dave," is the world’s best-known advocate for patient engagement. International keynote speaker about patient-clinician partnership.

Who developed the course?

Taipei Medical University

Taipei Medical University (TMU) has been a leader in Taiwan’s healthcare system for over half a century due to its research, teaching excellence, internationalization and outstanding medical service.

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$27.99

For the first two months. Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$134/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 23 Apr 2024

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

T&Cs apply.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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