“Home is where one starts from.“

T.S. Eliot

INTRODUCTION

The field of public health is evolving and continues to expand into unique areas.  Over the past 20 years social media has exploded and now affects many areas of our lives including our health.  Additionally, increased cost of living has forced people to make difficult decisions with lasting consequences. Even how we access physical activity has shifted.  

Table of Contents

In this blog post, we’ll be highlighting: 

• How the cost-of-living crisis has affected physical and mental health 
• Patient influencers in drug advertising 
• Opportunities for promoting exercise 

Cost-of-Living Crisis

What is the cost-of-living crisis and what effect does it have on public health? Cost-of-living is how much our basic standard of living costs and is the foundation for the rest of our lives. It includes the home we live in, the food we eat, the cost of our healthcare, and our transportation.  Many nations are currently experiencing a cost-of-living crisis where the cost-of-living is higher than what wages can purchase (Broadbent et al., 2023).  Families are being  put in the impossible position of having to choose between essentials such as paying for heat for a cold winter or buying enough food to feed their children (Bevan Foundation, 2022). 

The difficult situations the cost-of-living crisis has put people in causes significant psychological distress (Bierman et al., 2023). The strain of making ends meet creates feelings of insecurity and is damaging to mental health (Andersen & Reeves, 2022). Certain groups of people are being pushed towards poverty, social isolation, or both (Europe, 2023).  The cost-of-living crisis has far reaching complications for both physical health and mental health.

Although there is no easy solution for the cost-of-living crisis, a multi-prong approach is likely the best method for addressing this complex issue. Food suppliers can work with local communities to address food insecurity (Europe, 2023). Governments and the private sector can also collaborate to ease this burden for the population. Energy companies can also work with local communities to ease the burden. 

Patient Influencers 

Direct to consumer marketing is when a company advertises its products directly to the customer.  The pharmaceutical industry is unique because although large portions of the population globally take prescription medicines, only two countries allow pharmaceuticals to market their drugs directly to patients: New Zealand and The United States of America (Hoek & Gendall, 2002).  In all other countries, prescription drugs are marketed only to medical providers who then speak to patients about options available to them. Social media has exploded over the past twenty years which has caused companies to adjust their marketing schemes to match the new landscape.  Some pharmaceuticals are utilizing patient influencers to promote their products. Patient influencers are patients with a social media following who make posts about a specific drug or treatment.  In these posts the influencers talk about their experience with the drug and it can seem like an opinion instead of an advertisement. 

One concern with this is patients may be misled by drug ads or influencers without the guidance of a healthcare professional and ultimately adversely affect their health. Patients may have a variety of motivations for becoming influencers and, luckily, it appears they do so with good intentions  and want to help others who have had similar experiences with their disease process (Willis et al., 2023). One drawback is influencers may not discuss the negative effects of treatments that may affect others.  Since social media is a relatively new phenomenon with a massive reach, it can have positive impacts. However, there are still concerns.

Community Design for Physical Activity 

Our environments play a huge role in how we live and especially how we get our physical activity. It is common knowledge that physical activity is beneficial but there are often barriers people face to getting an adequate amount. Changing the built environment can help encourage physical activity and has the potential to create long-term change (Sallis et al., 2012). When physical activity is more accessible, people are more likely to engage in it regularly and make it part of their daily lives. 

Like with anything in public health, creating this change  will take a coordinated approach. Urban planners and public health professionals will have to work in tandem to create the best community design (Zhang & Warner, 2023).  They will have to consider safety, community, and transportation when designing the environment (Zhang & Warner, 2023).  The social ecological model can guide planning: 

Key Takeaways

The way public health is often thought of is in concentrations such as epidemiology, not social media.  As the world continues to expand, the field of public health is growing with it. How do you think social media, the cost-of-living, and the built environment will continue to affect public health trends?

Other Related Material

• Two-thirds of Canadian and American renters are in unaffordable housing situations
• Wages are rising, but can’t keep up with cost of living — and could worsen inflation
• Study Sheds Light on Concerning New Trend in Drug Advertising: Patient Influencers
• This Is Your Brain on Drug Ads
• To promote exercise, planners must look beyond cities 

Written by: Joya Banerjee, MPH, BSN, BA, RN