Empowering Digital Health ConsumersEija Hukka

Empowering Digital Health ConsumersEija Hukka

Development ManagerNational Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland

eija.hukka@thl.fi

National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)• Formed 1 January 2009 through

the merger of the National Public Health Institute (KTL) and the National Research and Development Centre for Welfareand Health (STAKES)

• Operates under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health(MSAH)

National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)• Mission:

• THL promotes the well-being and health of the population, preventsdiseases and social problems, and supports social and healthservices.

• THL carries out its responsibilitiesthrough a wide range of activities: research, evaluation and follow-up, development work, expertinfluence, centralised national services as well as international co-operation.

Key figuresKey figures

• Funding• Total budget in 2009 is 96 million euros: 64% from the State

Budget and 36% from other funding sources

• Personnel• Permanent staff: 927• Fixed-term project staff: 425

• Department of Communication and PR (53 persons)• Customer relations & information steering support• Communications• Web services unit• Publications unit

Preparedness for A(H1N1)v influenza epidemic (swine flu) Preparedness for A(H1N1)v influenza epidemic (swine flu)

• MSAH and THL work closely with the EU Commission and the European Centre for Disease Control

• National Preparedness Plan for Influenza Pandemic in 2006

• instructions to the state provincial offices, hospital districts, educational authorities and places of education, municipal day care authorities and day care units

THL’s roleTHL’s role

• guidelines to hospital districts, which distribute them to health centres together with regional instructions

• centralised communication to the public

Communication to the publicCommunication to the public

• Mass media (regular pressmeetings, newsletters, pressreleases, constant writing)

• Information to different targetgroups

• Print materials (posters, leaflets etc.)

• The influenza telephonehotline

• Outdoor campaign• TV-spots, radio podcasts

Internet communicationInternet communication

• Web pages: • An extensive information

package to the public & health professionals

• Social media: • Banners to the main

channels of social media e.g. Facebook, Messenger, Suomi24 chat

• Videos published in the YouTube

Lessons learned…Lessons learned…

• For the first time in history more people are turning to the Internet than to health professionals for healthinformation

(manhanttanRESEARCH)

• A Survey of Spanish doctors showed that 96% of the doctors have been questioned about information they have read on the Internet by their patients.

(Survey of Spanish docs online, 2008)

• Web Pages are important channels, but notenough…

Lessons learned…Lessons learned…

• Well annotated content improvedTHL’s Google ranking after ”swine flu”was added to the ontology.

• Important to use the terms peopleunderstand (H1N1 = ”swine flu”)

• Consumer focused social media strategy & tools are needed

• ”No single source of informationstands out or stands alone.”

November 2009

The digital health consumerThe digital health consumer

…wants to get the information:• from multiple sources• in understandable form• from peers/family as well as

from experts• whenever he/she needs it• using whatever device

I

The digital health consumer wants a second opinionThe digital health consumer wants a second opinion

But the web is a mess…But the web is a mess…

Semantics is making the web more intelligent and interoperableSemantics is making the web more intelligent and interoperable

Why semantics?Why semantics?

• To share common understanding of the structure of information among people and among computers

• To be able to reuse the content in differentsettings

• To avoid ”re-inventing the wheel”• To better take advantage of the social media

A second generation world widewebA second generation world widewebPeople are:• Seeking information• Sharing their own data &

experiences• Connecting with each

other• Seeking information

published by peers

Anytime, anyplace and any deviceAnytime, anyplace and any device

• Personalized search that finds the rightanswers

• The digital consumer chooses what to believeand whom he/she shares with

• Self-management via web-basedcommunication system

• Facilitating interactive communication & virtualcommunities

• Supporting decision & enabling transactions

Filling the gap between…Filling the gap between…

eHealth Care and the digital health consumer

Using social media in healtheducationUsing social media in healtheducation• Goal: Improve the H1N1

vaccination coverage among the younger generation

• Channels: Facebook and IRC-Gallery

• Online conversation, answeringquestions, quizz, FAQ, videos

• cooperation with the Finnish celebrities

• Partners: MSAH, THL, The Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS), The Finnish Red Cross, City of Helsinki (Net Nurse –service)

The future is social & mobileThe future is social & mobile

• A real-time web is the next logical step in the Internet’s evolution.

-OM Malig, Giga OM (2009)

• eHealth information & services are becoming more• Ubiquitous• Interoperable• Mobile (over 50% of world’s households carry a mobile

device) • Location-based (location awareness)

The future is already hereThe future is already here

”No one knows everything,everyone knows something, all knowledge resides in networks”

(Levy, 1997)