Facebook is rolling out a unique feature across the United States. It is a preventative health tool that has been designed to help users remember when their health checkups are due and where to go in order to get them. The recommendations that are given by the new tool by Facebook are based on the information that is provided by different independent organizations, which includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
You can access the tool by looking for ‘Preventative Health’ on the Facebook platform. The personalized health recommendations will be determined by the age and sex data that will be provided by you. By making use of the guidelines that have been provided by organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the CDC, the tool will provide information regarding the kind of health checkups that they should undertake. These tests might include colorectal cancer screening for users that are in their 50s or regular blood pressure checkup for users that are older.
As per Richard Kovacs, who is the president of the American College of Cardiology, ‘Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women around the world, and in many cases, it is 100 percent preventable. By incorporating prevention reminders into platforms people are accessing every day, we’re giving people the tools they need to be proactive about their heart health.’ The initial rollout of the tool includes annual reminders for flu vaccines and details about where users can go in order to receive a flu shot. Nancy Messonnier from the CDC said, ‘New tools like this will empower users with instant access to information and resources they need to become a flu fighter in their own communities.’
Erin Egan, Chief Privacy Officer in Facebook’s Public Policy division, said, ‘We don’t show ads based on the information you provide in Preventive Health – that includes things like setting a reminder for a test, marking it as done or searching for a healthcare location. As always, other actions that you take on Facebook could inform the ads you see, for example, liking the Facebook page of a health organization or visiting an external website linked to Preventive Health.’