Social Media Networking Strategies for the Yale New Haven Health Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response (YNH-CEPDR) / Yale New Haven Health System Center for Healthcare Solutions (YNHHS-CHS)

This paper investigates the uses and gratification of social media for both personal and organizational usage among employees at the Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response/Center for Healthcare Solutions in New Haven, Connecticut. The purpose of this thesis is to assess and evaluate the relationship between YNH-CEPDR/CHS' usage of social media tools and the organization's employees' personal attitudes, beliefs and usage of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Employees of YNH-CEPDR/CHS were surveyed regarding the function of social media for emergency management communication and the promotion of products and services. Results suggest that while employees generally agree that social media is a valuable tool for both personal use and professional purposes, there is no current social media strategy being employed by the organization. Future research should investigate and measure the effects of specific social media strategies employed by emergency preparedness and disaster response organizations.