Hand-Cleaning CDC Social Media

The administration quickly should spread hand-cleaning and other public health messages through social media to prepare young people for the expected 2009-H1N1 epidemic, a presidential advisory group reported on Monday.

The recommendation by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), a group of leading scientists and engineers appointed by the president, was part of a report on steps officials can take to minimize the impact of the H1N1 flu on the country.

"We strongly suggest that communications efforts be launched prior to September 1," the report states, adding that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should use traditional media and social networking.

"With respect to new media and social networking, we suggest that CDC reach out to key companies (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple) and other innovative entities and individuals. ... In this outreach, CDC could benefit by working closely with the federal chief technology officer [Aneesh Chopra]," the report recommended.

And the report gets even more specific about social media, or "Web 2.0," advertising strategies for spreading relevant messages, such as "Keep your hands clean" and "Stay home when you're sick":

"Beyond simply transmitting CDC's own messages, we believe there are opportunities to engage and encourage the creativity of the social networking community to create content and collect information. Members of [a flu work group assembled by PCAST] were impressed by a recent paper by researchers at Google and CDC demonstrating that an analysis of Google searches related to influenza-like symptoms was able to identify outbreaks earlier than conventional surveillance systems. Examples could include: 1) websites with information about initial self-diagnosis and treatment, up-to-date information about the epidemic, and perhaps even ways to share personal information that could help inform national surveillance; 2) mobile phone "apps" with similar content; 3) videos that convey messages in unusual ways; and 4) Facebook quizzes on influenza, shared among friends. In support of efforts to fight the influenza virus, we advise the use of communications tools designed to facilitate their "going viral." Such tools are more likely to be created by members of the public than by the government. However, it may be possible to encourage such efforts through contests and other mechanisms."