Twitter

Public Health Agency Twitter Policy

The Public Health Agency (PHA) uses Twitter to promote news and information related to our public health awareness campaigns and to engage with the public.

Our Twitter account is http://twitter.com/publichealthni

The following Terms of Use set out our policy on communicating through Twitter:

Content

If you follow us on Twitter you can expect regular tweets on the following topics:
• Updates, news and developments on our public health awareness campaigns;
• Useful advice on public health related topics;
• News and views from third-parties on relevant health related topics.

Following

The Public Health Agency follows relevant organisations and individuals on Twitter who we believe to be relevant to our remit and campaigns, including:
• Public sector organisations, public bodies and government departments;
• International organisations and individuals with an interest in public health issues;
• Journalists;
• Politicians;
• Other individuals who may have an interest in our work or may wish to disseminate our information to their followers.

Please note that our decision to follow a particular Twitter account does not imply endorsement of any kind.

Followers

Twitter allows people to become ‘followers’ of other Twitter users. We aim to attract followers to our Twitter profile as part of our remit as a public health awareness organisation in Northern Ireland. However, we are not responsible for the people who follow us on Twitter and the appearance of a Twitter user as a follower of PHA does not imply endorsement of any kind.

@ replies and Direct Messages

The Public Health Agency welcomes relevant @ replies, retweets and Direct Messages from Twitter followers. We review all messages and aim to use any relevant views and information to improve our work and campaigns.  We will also aim to reply to messages, however this will be done on a case-by-case basis.

We will disregard tweets and Direct Messages containing:

  • racist, defamatory or libellous comments
  • threats, obscenity or vulgarity
  • commercial post or spam
  • copyrighted material
  • links to inappropriate websites

Retweets

Users may retweet our posts, however we would like to be credited for the information used.

The PHA will retweet relevant information from third parties on a regular basis including health promotion activity and health advice, although this does not necessarily constitute endorsement.

Links to Other Websites

We are not responsible for the accuracy of content available through website links. Links to third-party websites do not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the content or the website.

Medical Information

Please note that we do not provide medical diagnoses.

Data Protection

The PHA abides by the Data Protection Act. The Information Commissioner's Office's guide - Social networking and online forums – when does the DPA apply? - is available here.