DHA continues weekly ‘live Twitter clinic' initiative after initial success

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, August 25, 2013: The Dubai Health Authority will host a weekly Twitter clinic every Thursday beginning September, to provide a forum for residents to post several queries on health related issues.

The DHA began this initiative during the holy month of Ramadan to provide fasters with heath tips. After the success of this initiative, the DHA has now extended this program and will hold live twitter clinics every Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Every week a team of health experts will discuss different topics related to health and well-being.

Residents can post their queries on @DHA_Dubai and the DHA team of doctors will provide an on-the-spot response as well as several health tips and dos and don'ts to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Ghanim Lootah, director of marketing and communications at the DHA said: “The initial response we received during the Twitter clinics that were held for the holy month of Ramadan was outstanding. We realized that people appreciated immediate responses to their queries and the answers were provided by experts in the field. For people with very specific queries, we advised them to visit a specialist but overall we were able to disseminate important health tips and information that is useful  for a large audience.”

He said that the DHA is keen to utilize Twitter as a medium for health promotion and considers it to be a vital a tool to advocate a healthier lifestyle for people living in Dubai.

Lootah said that during the month of September, the clinic will discuss several topics including back-to-school tips for parents. This includes the importance of physical exercise in schools, packing nutritious snack and lunch boxes for children, vaccinations, getting back to the school routine and inculcating healthy habits among school children as well as the importance of regular eye checkups.

This month the DHA will also discuss health tips and the importance of vaccination for Hajj pilgrims and will hold a session on World Heart Day to advocate the importance of awareness from a young age.

The next Twitter clinic will take place on Thursday, September 5, 2013 and the DHA will provide Twitter followers with the back-to-school health tips. For further information on the Twitter clinic, do tweet your queries @DHA_Dubai.