Can Health 2.0 Address Critical Healthcare Challenges? Insights from the Case of How Online Social Networks Can Assist in Combatting the Obesity Epidemic

Abstract

One of the serious concerns in healthcare in this 21st century is obesity. While the causes of obesity are multifaceted, social networks have been identified as one of the most important dimensions of people's social environment that may influence the adoption of many behaviours, including health-promoting behaviours.In this article, we examine the possibility of harnessing the appeal of online social networks to address the obesity epidemic currently plaguing society. Specifically, a design science research methodology is adopted to design, implement and test the Health 2.0 application called "Calorie Cruncher". The application is designed specifically to explore the influence of online social networks on individual's health-related behaviour. In this regard, pilot data collected based on qualitative interviews indicate that online social networks may influence healthrelated behaviours in several ways. Firstly, they can influence people's norms and value system that have an impact on their health-related behaviours. Secondly, social control and pressure of social connections may also shape health-related behaviours, and operate implicitly when people make food selection decisions. Thirdly, social relationships may provide emotional support.Our study has implications for research and practice. From a theoretical perspective, the article inductively identifies three factors that influence specific types of health outcomes in the context of obesity. From a practical perspective, the study underscores the benefits of adopting a design science methodology to design and implement a technology solution for a healthcare issue as well as the key role for online social media to assist with health and wellness management and maintenance.

Opportunities and challenges of social media for health knowledge management: A narrative review

“…[ 47 48 49 ] Another challenge in health media management in social media relates to the inability to control messages, and there are always concerns about negative comments, messages and conversations being distorted, and misinterpretations of others' opinions. [ 47 50 51 52 ] Another challenge of health knowledge management is the generalizability of social media users' behavior to the whole community. It should be noted that a great number of patients are not able to use social media for various reasons.…”

Practical and Ethical Considerations for Schools Using Social Media to Promote Physical Literacy in Youth

“…Use of misleading educational physical and health information on social media can be very dangerous for youth and the spread of unverified health claims can also be very harmful. Nevertheless, sharing personal experiences to establish meaningful person-to-person connections is central to the social media experience and has the potential to empower users to become more activated in terms of health information-seeking and health-related decision-making [28,29]. Physical education teachers who elect to incorporate social media into the classroom environment should be conscientious about how social media is used to mitigate barriers to youth physical literacy that may exacerbate existing health disparities.…”

Which Factors Determine Our Online Social Capital? An Analysis Based on Structural Equation Modelling

“…Besides contributing to breaking up echo chambers, platform vendors could address various societal issues (Durst et al, 2013), among them public health and education. For example, persons showing unhealthy eating habits could be provided with information regarding healthy food or sports activities in their newsfeed (Hacker, Wickramasinghe, & Durst, 2017). Likewise, individuals with limited access to education could be prompted with information on online courses.…”