title: Social Media for the Promotion of Holistic Self-Participatory Care: An Evidence Based Approach. Contribution of the IMIA Social Media Working Group.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  As health information is becoming increasingly accessible, social media offers ample opportunities to track, be informed, share and promote health. These authors explore how social media and holistic care may work together; more specifically however, our objective is to document, from different perspectives, how social networks have impacted, supported and helped sustain holistic self-participatory care.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature review was performed to investigate the use of social media for promoting health in general and complementary alternative care. We also explore a case study of an intervention for improving the health of Greek senior citizens through digital and other means.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Health Belief Model provides a framework for assessing the benefits of social media interventions in promoting comprehensive participatory self-care. Some interventions are particularly effective when integrating social media with real-world encounters. Yet not all social media tools are evidence-based and efficacious. Interestingly, social media is also used to elicit patient ratings of treatments (e.g., for depression), often demonstrating the effectiveness of complementary treatments, such as yoga and mindfulness meditation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To facilitate the use of social media for the promotion of complementary alternative medicine through self-quantification, social connectedness and sharing of experiences, exploration of concrete and abstract ideas are presented here within. The main mechanisms by which social support may help improve health - emotional support, an ability to share experiences, and non-hierarchal roles, emphasizing reciprocity in giving and receiving support - are integral to social media and provide great hope for its effective use.
authors: Center for Medical Decision Making, Ono Academic College, Israel; Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, New York, NY, USA. E-mail: talyam@ono.ac.il.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Miron-Shatz
authors: M M
authors: MM
authors: Hansen
authors: F J
authors: FJ
authors: Grajales
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Martin-Sanchez
authors: P D
authors: PD
authors: Bamidis
mesh_terms: D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D061108:Social Media; D012944:Social Support