Addressing gaps in health resources through social media

CPS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Ripudaman Minhas

What sparked the idea to jump into the world of TikTok/ Instagram?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, families have been more isolated than ever, while also accessing online health information more than ever before. The pandemic’s disproportionate toll on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) communities demonstrated the dire gap in health resources that meet the information needs of families in their unique cultural-linguistic context.

The idea of creating Punjabi Kids’ Health was led by our team at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto to address this need, along with CPS members Dr. Preety Salh and Dr. Mandeep Mahal, building on our lived experience as members of the Punjabi-Canadian community.

Can you talk a bit about your specific audience and the topics you focus on?

We are using community-based participatory methods to drive our content, tailoring our content to the needs cited by our online follower-community and by paediatric practitioners who work with predominately Punjabi communities. That is one of the beautiful aspects of social media: It is live and turnaround time for knowledge translation and mobilization is quick.

How many followers do you have through your social channels?

Across platforms, we have more than 45,000 online community members who follow our content from more than 30 countries. Our English content tends to do better on Instagram and our Punjabi video-based content tends hit viral status on TikTok.

Why do you think your social channels have been such a success?

Our online community members have shared that they appreciate evidence-based information from practitioners onscreen who look like and speak like them. The literature demonstrates that health advice and rapport can be improved when received from a practitioner who shares in your lived experience.

Also, Punjabi-identifying parents who are English-speaking have commented that they like to share our Punjabi content with grandparents who can be closely involved in their children’s care. Punjabi health professionals have also identified that they appreciate PKH as an opportunity for them to engage with their community of origin, in the form of content reviewers or video creators.

What would you like CPS members to know about the benefits of using social media in their work?

Social media platforms are a really important digital health tool that CPS members and health professionals can be using to share evidence-based health information, while also battling the epidemic of misinformation. Although it takes a lot of time to do well, the multiplier effect through online audiences can be very high!

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