January 9, 2024 – Social media influencers worked with experts from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health to share scientific information aimed at improving Mental Health.
This months-long effort was the subject of a January 5 NPR article.
Amanda Yarnellsenior director of Health Communication Centertold NPR that influencers “have an audience that trusts them, watches them, listens to them, and we want to equip them to communicate health information effectively and accurately.”
Yarnell led a study that provided evidence-based insights on topics such as the mind-body connection, traumaand mental health inequality to a group of creators who had previously posted on TikTok about mental health issues. After the influencers received educational materials and Zoom training from researchers, their videos featuring evidence-based content were viewed more than half a million times compared to posts they had made on these subjects before the intervention.
The NPR article also noted that one of the influencers, TikTok creator Kate Speer, works with Bryn Austinprofessor at Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and director of STRIPED (Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders)to help educate teens about the risks of over-the-counter weight loss supplements.
Read the NPR article: To help young people with #mentalhealth, researchers team up with TikTok influencers
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Collaborate with social media influencers to improve mental health (Harvard Chan School News)
Social media influencers and professors connect to improve mental health content (Harvard Chan School News)
