What’s in a username? Finding local health departments on Twitter

Authors

Jenine K. Harris, Washington University in St LouisFollow
Ryan C. Maier, Washington University in St. LouisFollow
Nina Jolani, National Association of County and City Health OfficialsFollow

Abstract

Social media platforms such as Twitter may be useful for local health departments (LHDs) in providing the essential service of educating and informing constituents.¹ However, health departments have relatively few Twitter followers overall.¹ One of the challenges that may be associated with following LHDs on Twitter is knowing how to find an LHD Twitter feed. With no suggested or required conventions for LHDs adopting social media, practitioners are left to independently develop their name and description, resulting in much variety. This report examines the names and descriptions for LHDs using Twitter and uses the Twitter people search function to identify which health departments can be found by searching for the health department name. Finally, we examine the relationship between being found through the Twitter people search and the number of followers for an LHD. We conclude with suggested LHD naming, description, and use practices for Twitter.

Recommended Citation

Harris JK, Maier RC, Jolani N. What’s in a username? Finding local health departments on Twitter. Front Public Health Serv Syst Res 2013; 2(4).
DOI: 10.13023/FPHSSR.0204.05