Reference no: EM133457728

Case Study : An early adopter, MD Anderson Cancer Center started using social media in 2007. Twitter, Facebook, and the blogosphere were its initial focus, as an increasing number of people were writing about their cancer experiences and treatment online. In 2015, the cancer center began building an online community for patients, caregivers, and survivors through its Cancerwise blog and social networks. Each month, more than 30,000 patients, caregivers, and survivors visit Cancerwise-which is published daily-to learn about new treatments and
hospital events and to read stories from patients, caregivers, and survivors. Recent posts have covered getting married after cancer, the benefits of support groups, and myths about oncologists.
Each Cancerwise post is shared on MD Anderson's Facebook, Twitter, and Google+pages, as well as, occasionally, on Pinterest. Social media followers also discover videos and podcasts on MD Anderson's YouTube channel, recipes, inspiring words-in short, a community that encourages personal stories, helpful tips, and questions. When they do ask questions, MD Anderson's Facebook and Twitter followers can count on an answer-or several-not just from the institution's social media team but also from others who have "been there." Perhaps most important, they are reminded that they're not alone.
People affected by cancer-including patients, survivors, advocates, and healthcare providers-can use social media to raise awareness and create support networks. Twitter and other social media play a big role in fostering online communities where people can find support, share information and experiences, and cope with the challenges that come with cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.
A tweet chat, or organized conversation on Twitter, allows Twitter users to meet online at a preplanned time to discuss a topic. Participants include a specific hashtag-a pound sign (#) followed by a word or phrase (without spaces) indicating the chat's topic or organizing group-in their tweets to contribute to the discussion. Tweet chats include moderators who keep the conversation going by asking questions and encouraging replies. Conversations aimed at patients and other individuals affected by cancer cover topics such as diagnosis, emotional support, treatments, resources, and survivorship. Social media accounts have been established for brain tumors, breast cancer, and lung cancer, among other types of cancer.

Questions
1. What need did MD Anderson perceive that encouraged it to establish a social media presence?
2. What characteristics of cancer and cancer patients may make the use of social media a high priority?
3. What did MD Anderson hope to achieve with its Cancerwise platform?
4. What types of activities and issues did MD Anderson hope to encourage?
5. What are the perceived benefits of this exercise in health communication?

Case Study

Healthy Harbor, a start-up clinic, planned to take an innovative approach to healthcare by changing many aspects of care delivery that consumers disliked. For example, the clinic would be completely paperless and eliminate the need for most forms. It would offer same-day appointments and guarantee a certain turn around time for patient visits. It would offer personalized care with around-the-clock access to clinical staff.
To introduce this innovative concept, Healthy Harbor staff worked with a marketing agency to develop an aggressive promotional plan. This plan involved a multipronged approach that targeted community residents and area employees. The campaign used a combination of public relations activities, advertising in print and electronic media, sales promotion through participation in sponsorships and health fairs, and personal sales calls to area businesses.

Questions
1. What aspects of the marketing campaign would an evaluator assess to determine its efficiency?
2. What aspects of the marketing campaign would an evaluator assess to determine its outcome(s)?
3. What aspects of the marketing campaign would an evaluator assess to determine its impact?
4. To what extent should ethical evaluation be implemented?