Provision of media support for the healthcare system in the context of digital transformation

Background. The article analyzes the provision of media support for the healthcare system as an agenda-setting factor in the context of digital transformation. It is established that this area of research fits logically into the framework of health communication studies. In this work, the provision of media support for the healthcare system is considered within the agenda-setting theory. It is shown that in the context of digital transformation, new media, including state public websites, become a source of information forming the image of institutional structures and organizations, as well as a factor affecting the behavioral initiatives and practices of the population.

Objective. To analyze the provision of media support for the healthcare system as an agenda-setting factor in the context of digital transformation.

Methods. The empirical base of the study comprised semi-structured expert interviews with public relations specialists employed in the healthcare system of Sverdlovsk Oblast (2020, n = 12), reports on the publication activity of medical organizations (2022, n = 11,054), publications on the website “Health of the Urals population” (2023, n = 1182), requests from members of the public (2020–2023, n = 54568), and data from the Applied Research Agency (2020–2023, n = 89527).

Results. The findings indicate that the media support provided for the healthcare system is based on materials that confirm the implementation of the national projects “Healthcare” and “Demography,” as well as news about the current activities of the Ministry of Health / medical organizations and the prevention of noncommunicable diseases. Requests from members of the public were primarily related to individual local issues, which can also be newsworthy.

Conclusion. Drawing on the thematic analysis, the article states that the agenda built by the Ministry of Health of the region can be expanded to include the public agenda set by the members of the public, including through their requests. It should include issues related to the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle, as well as publications aimed at improving the health literacy of the population. This approach can potentially not only reduce the number of requests, but also contribute to the development and strengthening of health-promoting behavior practices of different population groups.

1. Alekseenko SN., Arzhentsov VF., Vermennikova LV, Veselova DV., Degtyarev VS., Starodubov VI. Change Management in a Medical Organisation during the Implementation of the Federal Project “Creation of a New Model of a Medical Organisation Providing Primary Health Care”. Kuban Scientific Medical Bulletin. 2019;26(5):18–28 (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.25207/1608-6228-2019-26-5-18-28

2. Frati A, Luzi AM, Colucci A. Communication for health promotion: history and identification of effective methods. Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2010;46(4):422–426. https://doi.org/10.4415/ANN_10_04_10. PMID: 21169674.

3. Volosnikov RA. The influence of social media on the formation and functioning of public opinion. Sociologicheskiy Al`manax. 2019;10:82–90 (In Russ.).

4. Svetlichnaya TG, Smirnova EA. Theoretical and Conceptual Approaches and Results of the Empirical Study of Medicalization Phenomenon (Literature Review). Logos et Praxis. 2017;3:145–160 (In Russ.). http://dx.doi.org/10.15688/lp.jvolsu.2017.3.17

5. Dobrorodni DG, Chernyak YG. Medicalization as a SocioCultural Phenomenon and the Object of Interdisciplinary Research. Mezhdisciplinarnye Issledovaniya. 2012;1/2:82–88 (In Russ.).

6. Snow J. How the media are failing the health service. BMJ. 2008;337(7660):a572. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a572

7. Oxman AD, Glenton C, Flottorp S, Lewin S, Rosenbaum S, Fretheim A. Development of a checklist for people communicating evidence-based information about the effects of healthcare interventions: a mixed methods study. BMJ Open. 2020;10(7):e036348. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036348

8. Oxman AD, Fretheim A, Lewin S, Flottorp S, Glenton C, Helleve A, Vestrheim DF, Iversen BG, Rosenbaum SE. Health communication in and out of public health emergencies: to persuade or to inform? Health Res Policy Syst. 2022;20(1):28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-022-00828-z

9. Schiavo R. Health Communication. From Theory to Practice. New York, NY: Jossey-Bass. 2007. 464 p.

10. Mheidly N, Fares J. Health communication research in the Arab world: A bibliometric analysis. Integr Healthc J. 2020;2(1):e000011. https://doi.org/10.1136/ihj-2019-000011

11. Lippmann W. Public opinion. Second printing. New Brunswick (USA) and London (UK): Transaction Publishers; 1998. 427 p.

12. McCombs ME, Show DL. The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. Public Opinion Quarterly. 1972;36(2):176–187. https://doi.org/10.1086/267990

13. Terris M. A social policy for health. Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1968;58(1):5–12. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.58.1.5

14. Kazakov AA. The Theory of Agenda Settings: Main Approaches and Research Directions in Russian Political Science. Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 12. Political sciences. 2014;12(3):41–56 (In Russ.).

15. Kozel TC, Kane WM, Hatcher MT, Hubbell AP, Dearing JW, Forster-Cox S, Thompson S, Pérez FG, Goodman M. Introducing Health Promotion Agenda-Setting for Health Education Practitioners. California Journal of Health Promotion. 2006;4(1):32–40. https://doi.org/10.32398/cjhp.v4i1.730

16. Neiger BL, Thackeray R, Burton SH, Giraud-Carrier CG, Fagen MC. Evaluating social media's capacity to develop engaged audiences in health promotion settings: use of Twitter metrics as a case study. Health Promot Pract. 2013;14(2):157–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839912469378

17. Cohen L, Chavez V, Chehimi S. Prevention is primary: strategies for community well being. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 2010. 464 p.

18. Balatsoukas P, Kennedy CM, Buchan I, Powell J, Ainsworth J. The Role of Social Network Technologies in Online Health Promotion: A Narrative Review of Theoretical and Empirical Factors Influencing Intervention Effectiveness. J Med Internet Res. 2015;17(6):e141. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.3662

19. Cooks EJ, Vilaro MJ, Dyal BW, Wang S, Mertens G, Raisa A, Kim B, Campbell-Salome G, Wilkie DJ, Odedina F, Johnson-Mallard V, Yao Y, Krieger JL. What did the pandemic teach us about effective health communication? Unpacking the COVID-19 infodemic. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):2339. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14707-3

20. Wu YQ, Gong J. Mobile Social Media as a Vehicle of Health Communication: a Multimodal Discourse Analysis of WeChat Official Account Posts During the COVID-19 Crisis. Humanities and social sciences communications. 2023;10:787. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02259-9

21. Williams O, Swierad EM. A Multisensory Multilevel Health Education Model for Diverse Communities. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(5):872. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16050872

22. Moskvina SS, Rukhmatullin AR, Yakhina RR. Organizational aspects of the implementation of the national project “Healthcare” in the regions of the Russian Federation. Orgzdrav. VSHOUZ Bulletin. 2023;9(4(34)):29–38 (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.33029/2411-8621-2023-9-4-29-38

23. Salin PB. Information Support for the Implementation of the National Projects as a Factor of Stabilization of the Political System. The Authority. 2020;5:53–58 (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31171/vlast.v28i5.7570

24. Makkizadeh F, Ebrahimi F. Theme trends and knowledge structure on health communication: Bibliometric analysis in PubMed database. Informatics in Medicine Unlocked. 2022;32(1):101033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imu.2022.101033

25. Ide-Walters C, Hirst A. Potential impact of health communications to raise awareness of the relative risk of age and cancer: a qualitative study. Lancet. 2023;402 Suppl 1:S56. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02087-1