HIFA is contributing to a major research project to explore the question: 'How can decision-making processes for health systems strengthening and universal health coverage be made more inclusive, responsive and accountable?' https://www.hifa.org/projects/new-support-systems-how-can-decision-makin...
The project will focus on the extent to which civil society voices can improve decision-making processes for UHC and promote equity.
Conventionally, individual voices may be heard through public meetings, and civil society organisations can consult with their members on collective statements. Another, less direct and less targeted approach, is 'social listening' through social media analytics (SMA). 'SMA tools work by scraping huge amounts of publicly available data from social media platforms...'.
Below are two extracts from a working paper (not peer-reviewed) that looks particularly at the limitations of SMA.
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(Mis)communication? Social listening and the exclusion of marginalised voices
Irene Scottmarch
https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/thl/article/view/1558/1435
'In an emergency, users go to these virtual networks to request and share information, locate loved ones, and find community in crisis (Appling et al, 2014). Increasingly, these virtual communities are being used by social science researchers to try and understand people’s beliefs and perceptions. In this way, our online lives are directly influencing the policy decisions made for us in our offline lives. And while there is certainly merit in using these vast data sets for research, in this article I will explore the limitations of this approach, in particular, when using Social Media Analytics (SMA) tools. Understanding the limitations of any data set is vital in being able to weigh its relevance in any research or policy decision (Ross & Zaidi, 2019). My hypothesis is that by presenting this kind of data as an accurate depiction of community-wide insights, without a nuanced discussion of limitations, there is the potential to misrepresent community perceptions and to further silence and marginalise vulnerable groups.
'It is evident that when working with SMA tools errors can occur—just as a human interpreter may misinterpret information. Policymakers must understand the capabilities and limits of these tools in regards to language, particularly for making decisions that could impact on the efficacy of a public health response.'
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Best wishes, Neil
Neil Pakenham-Walsh, Global Coordinator HIFA, www.hifa.org neil@hifa.org
Global Healthcare Information Network: Working in official relations with WHO
Joint Coordinator, HIFA SUPPORT-SYSTEMS
https://www.hifa.org/projects/new-support-systems-how-can-decision-makin...
