Co-producing social media in a learning disability service
Recently I blogged about how we were collaborating with people with a learning disability to develop a social media presence. You can find the post here Our next step was for @digitalastair and me to spend a morning with a group of people with a learning disability, and workers, to have a shared think about how we might make this happen in practice. We found that whilst some participants had heard of Facebook, almost everyone was unfamiliar with other forms of social media, and only a few people had an active account. We had wondered whether the highly visual content of Pinterest might be appealing – and we weren’t wrong. It is no exaggeration to say that people loved it. We found out about everyone’s interests and then invariably we were able to track down a Pinterest site that matched. Everything from Freddie Star, through to Westlife, through to pubs in Leeds. The only thing which eluded us was Shakin’ Stevens – a gap in the world of Pinterest that has yet to be filled! This practical approach, directly connecting to people’s personal interests, was a great way to engage them in the possibilities of social media. The service already has a healthy eating group and participants immediately saw the advantages of keeping a photographic record of recipes as they are made and then sharing them with others through the site. People saw this as an opportunity to share their activities with friends and families. Workers saw it as a means of keeping colleagues, managers and commissioners in touch with their work. And as @Digitalastair pointed out: ‘On Facebook...
Is a #TweetChat the best way to debate a thorny issue? 4 learning points and a question
So how effective is a TweetChat for deliberating complex issues? Can you properly debate in 140 character snippets? And can a TweetChat be satisfying or frustrating to participate in? For those of you new to the concept, a TweetChat is a pre-scheduled chat on a specific topic, in which people can participate using a #hashtag, during a specified time period. There is a range of health related regular chats emerging, such as the well-established #nhssm and the more recent #BPDchat,as well as a range of chats organised by specific professional groups. @wenurses organise weekly TweetChats on nursing topics and I’d like to share a few reflections on the chat that took place last night (17 January 2013) using the hashtag #wenurses. You can find a post and storify of the conversation here. The chat came about on the suggestion of @Anniecoops after she had read a joint post I put together with @chaosandcontrol on the subject of social media use in mental health inpatient settings. The post had a lot of hits, and a number people with inpatient experience, shared negative experiences they had had on wards, in the comments. It was for this reason that I hoped that lots of people with personal inpatient experience would participate in the chat. In my experience of other NHS TweetChats, the professional/practitioner voice has predominated, and people with a patient or personal perspective have often only tentatively contributed. One possible reason for this became apparent when a tweep expressed concern about the amount of jargon that might be used and that they might not be able to keep up. First learning point –...
Has your NHS Trust got an inpatient social media policy?
Inspired by my recent joint post with @chaosandcontrol, the lovely @wenurses are holding a Twitter chat on Thursday 17 January 2013 on the topic of social media in mental health inpatient settings. I thought it would be useful to post some information about the statutory position on access to social media, by way of some background information. Big thanks to @barlowjeffm for his invaluable help with putting this together. So what guidance is already out there that mental health NHS Trusts need to consider when developing a policy on the use of social media in inpatient settings? Here is what we have found. It is worth noting that most of the information out there does not specifically address social media, and tends to refer to phone calls, texting and taking photos. However, many of the same principles apply. NHS constitution The NHS constitution says ‘in England, you should be allowed to use your mobile phone in an NHS hospital. This includes using your phone on a ward, as long as it’s not a risk to your safety or that of other patients and doesn’t affect the operation of electronically sensitive medical equipment. ‘All NHS trusts should have a written policy on the use of mobile phones which you can ask your hospital to see. There should be signs up in all hospital areas which say clearly whether you can use a mobile phone there or not’ Department of Health The Department of Health guidance on Using mobile phones in NHS hospitals was published in 2009. It states that ‘patients will be allowed the widest possible use of mobile phones in hospitals,...
Pros and perils of social media in a mental health inpatient setting
This joint post with @chaosandcontrol came about through a Twitter conversation we had about her experience of mental health staff confiscating her smartphone whilst she was an inpatient, which she has blogged about here. There came a connecting together of minds – @chaosandcontrol’s desire to influence mental health service social media policies and my desire to improve ours so our staff have the resources they need to support people effectively. Here’s our conversation: VB – what do you think staff were worried about in terms of your use of social media when you were a patient on the ward? CaC – There was a concern that patients could write anything about themselves, other patients or staff, be it fact or fiction. To some folks, social media is an unknown quantity, and sadly, the unknown has a great capacity to scare. You don’t have to Google very hard to find stories of employees disciplined or sacked as a consequence of posting inappropriate things on social media sites. Indeed, I wonder whether information surrounding the dismissal and disciplining of NHS staff adds fuel to the fire? Not that long ago, a pocket watch was the must have latest gadget. Were patients allowed to keep them when they were admitted to the asylum? Or, did they have to refer to the clock in the main building several fields away? I am not well read enough on my history to know the answer to that question. The point that I am trying to make is that we’re in the 21st century; smart phones, the internet and social media are not going to disappear....about.me
Victoria Betton
victoria betton
director mHabitat | NHS | social media & mental health doctorate | interested in digital inclusion | parma violets fiend | http://codesigndigitalhealth.co.uk
