324 - Protocol for Leveraging Social Media to Promote Health Equity: Using Visual Content to Advance Inclusive Rehabilitation

Social media has become a powerful tool for disseminating knowledge and fostering engagement within healthcare. This protocol outlines the use of Instagram to address disparities in rehabilitation, which disproportionately affect individuals with disabilities and minoritized groups, including Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ+ populations. These groups often face intersecting barriers, leading to gaps in healthcare access. The project aims to create visually engaging Instagram carousels—multi-slide posts combining text, images, and graphics—to raise awareness, educate, and engage healthcare professionals about healthcare disparities, promoting a more inclusive approach to rehabilitation.

Design:

This protocol is centered on the development and dissemination of educational content via Instagram. Content will be developed by a literature review and designed to align with key healthcare and DEI observances (e.g., Disability Awareness Month, LGBTQ+ Pride). The carousels will combine educational text with compelling visuals to convey information on health disparities in rehabilitation. To enhance engagement, interactive features such as polls and stories will be incorporated to stimulate community dialogue. The initiative's impact will be measured using Instagram's built-in analytics tool, tracking key metrics such as post likes, views, and shares. Focus will be placed on engagement metrics (comments, polls, and story interactions) to assess audience involvement and the reach of educational content. The data collected will be reviewed monthly to identify trends and optimize future posts.

Results:

We anticipate increased awareness and understanding of healthcare disparities within the physiatry community, as well as greater engagement on the [blinded] social media platforms. Long-term goals include expanding the project to cover additional health equity topics and collaborating with other healthcare organizations to amplify the initiative’s reach and impact.

Conclusions: This protocol represents a novel approach to advancing health equity in rehabilitation using social media. By leveraging Instagram’s visual platform, we aim to educate, engage, and promote a more inclusive environment within physical medicine and rehabilitation.