All photos by Cindy Chew
The 9th Annual Promoting Research in Social Media and Health Symposium (PRISM) took place at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco on December 10, 2024. The symposium brought together over 80 attendees from diverse backgrounds to explore advancements in the intersection of social media and health focused research.
PRISM founder and co-chair Dr. Urmimala Sarkar, Professor at UCSF, began with a welcome to attendees and land acknowledgment to recognize and respect the Ramaytush Ohlone people as traditional stewards of the land that UCSF sits upon. PRISM co-chair, Dr. Jon-Patrick Allem, Associate Professor at Rutgers University, followed with an overview of the PRISM agenda.
Poster Session
The poster session focused on work-in-progress or completed research from trainees and junior faculty. In total, we learned from 31 poster presentations. The full list of presenters can be found here.
Panel 1: Methodologies in Social Media Research
Dr. Haoning Xue, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah, explored the role of video as data in public health promotion, specifically through short video engagement. Dr. Xue highlighted how multimodal features can enhance the effectiveness of public health messaging in these videos. Her findings reveal that videos with a moderate level of message sensation value (MSV) are most effective in maximizing public engagement.
Dr. Alex Russel, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, presented his work on alcohol use disorder (AUD) responses on ChatGPT-4, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of AUD-related questions. Findings demonstrated that ChatGPT and similar large language models (LLMs) can be a resource for individuals seeking AUD information online.
Dr. Yingdan Lu, Assistant Professor in Communications at the University of Northwestern University, shared her work on computer vision and computational visual analysis in social media research. Dr. Lu highlighted the prevalence of "fact-checking videos" circulating on social media platforms, which are often designed to capture users' attention. Her findings revealed that specific visual features are linked to the persuasiveness of these videos and play a significant role in driving audience engagement.
Panel 2: Ethics
Dr. Alice Marwick, Director of Research at the Data & Society Research Institute, explored the underlying reasons why people share health-related disinformation. She categorized health disinformation into six areas: conspiracies, scams, vaccines, diet, science, and alternative medicine. Dr. Marwick emphasized that health disinformation often targets vulnerable individuals seeking solutions to chronic conditions.
Dr. Helen Nissenbaum, Professor of Information Science and founding director of the Digital Life Initiative at Cornell Tech, discusses her work surrounding privacy as contextual integrity. Dr. Nissenbaum discusses the three common privacy fallacies and explains that privacy cannot be understood as a universal concept but must be based on the specific norms and expectations that govern information sharing in various social contexts.
Patient Advocacy
Ben Lenail, MBA, Co-founder and Board Member of ALD Connect provided patient perspective insights to PRISM attendees. Ben shared the importance of social media platforms creating trends and the importance of connecting people facing similar struggles.
Rapid Fire Presentations
Rapid-fire presentations focused on research from trainees and junior faculty, presenting research in progress or completed research. In total, we learned from 3 rapid-fire presentations. The full list of presenters can be found here.
Panel 3 : Unsubstantiated Claims in Health and Wellness
Dr.Marco Zenone, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, shared his research on the misinformation spread on social media platforms. His work focused on misinformation exploiting people in difficult medical situations. Dr. Zenone's takeaway messages shine a light on digital platforms having little incentive to change the current context.
Timothy Caulfield, Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health and Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta, addressed the political identity of medical misinformation. He discussed the role of misinformation through social media and the impact of celebrity culture on public health. His work challenges the common misconceptions about health and wellness.
Kerry O’Brien, Regional Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Western Region, shares the strategies used by the FTC to prevent unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices. She shares the basic principles of authority used by the FTC: advertising must be truthful, non-misleading, and substantiated; “advertising” includes labeling, marketing, and promotion; anyone who participates in deceptive is potentially liable under FTC law.
Closing Remarks
Co-Chair Dr. Urmimala Sarkar, ends PRISM with closing remarks and reflections.
PRISM 2024 Awards:
Best Rapid-Fire Presentation by a non-trainee:Dr. Scott Donaldson
Best Rapid-Fire Presentation by a trainee: Michael Haupt
Best Poster Presentation by a non-trainee: George Pearson
Best Poster Presentation by a trainee: Ryan Moore
Special thanks to our sponsors (UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCSF Action Research Center for Health Equity, UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, Rutgers Health Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco studies, Rutgers Cancer Institute, Stanford Center for Digital Health ); steering committee (Dr. Urmimala Sarkar, Dr. Jon Patrick-Allem, Thomas Bukowski, Dr. Sylvia Chou, Dr. Valentin Danchev, Dr. Michael Deiner, Dr. Scott Donaldson, Dr. Cesar Escobar-Viera, Dr. Jhaimy Fernandez, Dr. Yulin Hswen, Dr. Pamela Ling, Dr. Sunny Liu, Dr. Tim Mackey, Dr. Philip Massey, Dr. Meredith Meacham, Dr. Thu Nguyen, Dr. Alex Russell, Dr. Elyse Thulin, Dr. Erin Vogel Dr. Molly Waring); event staff (Leslie Avilez, Jasmine Chukewueke, Faviola Garcia, Christian Gutierrez, Sara Guzman-Estrada, Vlad Honcharov, Cindy Kim, Jorge Larreynaga, Eric Li, Isabel Luna, Monica Naranjo, Kristan Olazo, Maria Plascencia-Mooradian, Nilpa Shah, Jeanette Wong, Andersen Yang); MBCC staff (Darla Parks, Nick Vogel, Rebecca Mauricio);photographer (Cindy Chew); and catering (Arguello Catering).
Thank you from the PRISM Steering Committee and UCSF Staff team!