Sydney Health Literacy Lab

Rigorous research, informed decisions and better health for diverse communities - Based in School of Public Health @Sydney_Uni

[APPRISE @APPRISE_network]

Study: social media health communication experiences of health communicators and young people during and after the #COVID19 emergency

Recommendation: involve young people in future messaging to make communications consistently engaging
@JulieLeask
https://t.co/K0qL3cBFW3

[Sydney Health @syd_health]

Many Australians encounter health information that is hard to understand, with 6 in 10 adults struggling with common health tasks.

A/Prof Danielle Muscat is working to ensure health information is clear, accessible and culturally appropriate.

🔗 https://t.co/ARBoQ4yPYm

[eCentreClinic @eCentreClinic1]

IN PRESS | @DrAlanaFisher et al's paper on #healthliteracy of ppl using unguided #iCBT for #depression/#anxiety.

Despite diverse literacy challenges - esp. in often underserved groups - users engaged & benefited.

👉 https://t.co/IB659n5ebL

@PsyMQ
@Lifespan_MQ
@HealthLitLab

[Wiser Healthcare @wiserhealthcare]

New paper: One-Page Patient Fact Sheets for Low Back Pain in Primary Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial
What is the comparative effectiveness of 2 different fact sheets in preparing patients with low back pain for shared decision-making?
https://t.co/kDrl9ME3JE
#WiserHealthcare

[Croakey News @CroakeyNews]

Better ways to communicate health messages to young people https://t.co/ROmJWXuhEy

[Melissa Sweet @MelissaSweetDr]

"Young people expect engaging and trending content on social media, even from public health agencies. Health communicators can collaborate with influencers, use humour, memes and trends that young people use."
https://t.co/bR7RoF3VZv

[Croakey News @CroakeyNews]

Better ways to communicate health messages to young people https://t.co/ROmJWXuhEy #publichealth

[Sydney Health EMCR @sydFMH_EMCR]

ECR category winner
Brooke Nickel
Social media posts about medical tests with potential for overdiagnosis. JAMA Netw Open. (2025) 8(2):e2461940.
https://t.co/2VvSYty7YU

[Sydney Health EMCR @sydFMH_EMCR]

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2025 Faculty of Medicine and Health Early to Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Outstanding Publication Awards!

[Melody Taba @melody_taba]

Our final 5 recommendations for social media health communication to young people are:

1️⃣ Involve young people 🤝

2️⃣ Pitch at right level ✅

3️⃣ Capture attention fast‼️

4️⃣ Use current social media marketing 🤠

5️⃣ Engage more with the public 🤳🏽

🔗: https://t.co/ESOplIRa1k

[Melody Taba @melody_taba]

We used #ParticipatoryActionResearch methods for this project, and partnered with 3 youth co-researchers, who helped facilitate and analyse the 3 #codesign workshops with young people and health communicators.

The 5 recommendations were finalised after multiple iterations…

[Melody Taba @melody_taba]

🎉 New PhD paper out now!

We co-designed 5 recommendations with young people and health communicators for social media health communication to young people!

Read the full article https://t.co/ESOplIRa1k

🧵for more ⬇️

[Dr Cameron Webb @Mozziebites]

“By incorporating a variety of messaging approaches and actively involving young people in content development, public health agencies can better reach and engage young people, including during public health emergencies.” Nice work @melody_taba and team! #publichealth

[The Conversation - Australia + New Zealand @ConversationEDU]

87% of posts mentioned the benefits of the tests, while only 15% mentioned potential harms. @brooke_nickel @zadro_josh @BondUniversity @Sydney_Uni https://t.co/hW6lkD8EbJ

[Ash Paul @pash22]

Social media influencers are ‘fearmongering’ to promote health tests with limited evidence, @brooke_nickel study finds: Researchers warn of harms of overdiagnosis for generally healthy people as well as the cost of tests themselves https://t.co/XnLqpMP5HV via @natasha__may

[Timothy Caulfield @CaulfieldTim]

SO MUCH "testing" hype now. This can do harm.

Social Media Posts About Medical Tests With Potential for Overdiagnosis https://t.co/V3r2LlEmiW

- 87.1% mentioned benefits
- 14.7% noted harms,
- 6.1% noted overdiagnosis

[Read: you don't need that full-body MRI!]

[Joshua Zadro @zadro_josh]

https://t.co/sFFHTw7yuo

[Melody Taba @melody_taba]

Opportunity to get involved in health research!

We’re looking for new members to join the Sydney Health Literacy Lab Consumer Panel (Co-SHeLL) for 2025!

If you’re passionate about making health info easier to understand or have ideas on improving health systems, learn more ⬇️

[Sydney Health Literacy Lab @HealthLitLab]

Interested in shaping the future of health research?

Join the Sydney Health Literacy Lab Consumer Panel (Co-SHeLL) and help us in our research!

If you're a patient, consumer or community member, we'd love to hear from you.

Learn more: https://t.co/rZJU5AtCiH