Facebook has become the area for regular and unceasing communication among people all over the world. The platform also allows bringing the members of specific communities closer by creating groups in which the target population may participate. Therefore, Facebook should be viewed as the firsthand option for the New York City STD/HIV Prevention Training Center (NYC STD/HIV PTC) to consider as the means of enlightening people about the issue of STD.
Among the primary reasons for choosing the specified social media tool as the means of attracting people’s attention to the problem of STD among the American youth, one should mention the fact that the social network is widely popular among the target demographics. Indeed, studies show that previous attempts at building awareness among young people about a specific issue with the help of Facebook and similar services have proven successful (Abramson, Keefe, & Chou, 2015).
One might argue that the tools such as Twitter should be viewed as superior to Facebook due to the speed of updates. Indeed, Twitter offers an opportunity for a slightly more rapid exchange of data due to the specifics of the communication process within it. However, unlike Facebook, the nature of Twitter does not allow engaging in lengthy discussions and carry out debates. Therefore, Facebook should be deemed as a more efficient one.
To draw people’s attention to the problem of STD among young residents of NYC and the US, in general, one should focus on posting short yet content-heavy articles with a range of essential facts and one or two graphs, charts, pictures, etc. Thus, people will be interested in learning more about the subject matter. Furthermore, discussions moderated by the nurses should be encouraged so that people could engage actively in the management of the problem. Tests and quizzes will be used to make sure that people are motivated and capable of learning the required information.
Social Platform for Nurses and Community Members
Another tool that could contribute to a more active process of knowledge dissemination among the community member, the use of social platforms built specifically to encourage community members to communicate with nurses must be discussed as a possibility. While requiring a significant effort and extensive IT skills, the construction of an entirely new platform will allow creating a unique environment in which every element will serve the purpose of meeting the needs of the community members. In other words, unlike Facebook and similar tools, the specified service will be aimed at enhancing the process of the relevant knowledge acquisition by the community members, as well as the rest of the US population that are concerned about STD. The platform will provide the environment in which Education Nurses (ENs) will provide consultations to the participants and answer their questions related to STD. Furthermore, the available array of media tools, including image galleries, videos, templates for online tests, etc., will be used to promote active knowledge acquisition among the target population members (Jackson & Kennedy, 2015). The communication will be monitored by a moderator, whereas the knowledge acquisition process will be supervised with the help of tests and quizzes.
The opportunity to ask anonymous questions and receive exhaustive professional responses can be viewed as the primary rationale behind the creation of the platform and its further use in the program. It is important to provide people with an opportunity to communicate successfully with actual healthcare experts. Once the participants realize that they speak to people and not online bots, they will open for a discussion and, thus, will acquire the relevant knowledge and skills more actively.
References
Abramson, K., Keefe, B., & Chou, W. Y. S. (2015). Communicating about cancer through Facebook: A qualitative analysis of a breast cancer awareness page. Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives, 20(2), 237-243.
Jackson, J., & Kennedy, M. (2015). Developing a social media platform for nurses. Nursing Standard, 30(12), 45-52.