HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL MEDIA

Health JAM: Health Care Social Media Review, 10th Edition: Social Media and Chronic Disease

The tenth edition of Health Care Social Media Review.  This week’s theme is the role of social media in addressing, managing and preventing chronic diseases.   According to the World Health Organization (WHO), chronic diseases, also known as noncommunicable diseases (NCD), are a leading cause of death worldwide.  NCDs encompass four main groups: cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disorders and diabetes; these diseases can affect people of any age and socioeconomic group.  As Kenneth Thorpe observed on HealthWorks Collective, “the key to addressing our greatest 21st century health care challenges—controlling costs while achieving improved health outcomes—lies in attacking chronic disease.”