AN EXPLORATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH WORKER ENGAGEMENT WITH HEALTH-RELATED SOCIAL MOVEMENTS THROUGH AN ANALYSIS OF #BLACKLIVESMATTER

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2018

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Abstract

Social movements fight for social justice by protesting systemic social inequities. The field of public health aims to eliminate these same disparities as they relate to health. Many social movements are not currently viewed as health social movements despite these movements addressing health disparities by challenging existing inequities related to social determinants of health. One example is the Black Lives Matter movement which has gained considerable attention in its efforts to address systemic racism, a known determinant of health. While the Black Lives Matter movement has evoked many academic and popular responses, there has been a lack of focus on this movement by the public health workforce. Therefore this work uses the Black Lives Matter movement as an example of a health-related social movement warranting engagement from the public health workforce.

This study utilizes a novel approach to the use of social media data in the public health field. The first part of this work examines tweets containing #BlackLivesMatter and compares the online discourse to the stated mission and principles outlined by the leaders of the Black Lives Matter organization. An analysis of the Twitter data was then presented in a Delphi study conducted with a panel of experts in public health. Delphi participants were tasked with developing ideas on how the public health workforce could best apply the information collected from #BlackLivesMatter Twitter data to aid in addressing the health-related issues highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement. More broadly, participants also generated ideas about what can be done to encourage the public health workforce to systematically engage with health-related social movements. Finally, one-on-one interviews were conducted with self-identified social activists. These activists were asked about their participation in social movements, their use of social media regarding their advocacy work, and for ideas about how the public health workforce could engage with their causes. Findings from each study are discussed along with recommendations for future work aimed at developing relationships between public health workers and social movements.

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