Social Health Awards FAQ

Most Popular Questions

How do the Social Health Awards work?

Wondering how the Social Health Awards work? Click here to learn more about the awards.

What are key dates I should be aware of?
Nominations will be open May 1 – May 22, 2023. Endorsements will run from May 15 – May 22. Winners will be announced in July at Health Union’s Connexion virtual conference and invited to a September in-person Social Health Awards celebration in Philadelphia, PA.

What are this year’s major changes?

Thank you to all community members who have provided ideas and insights about the awards program. We’ve considered these suggestions to make the following enhancements:

Timeline:

Categories

Celebration:

Can I nominate myself?

Of course. We hope you’ll reach out to your community and ask them to nominate their favorite members of the online health world, and that includes you; however, you’re more than welcome to nominate yourself as part of the process. Be sure to take a moment and recognize any great leaders who also help you daily.

I’ve been nominated, but I haven’t received an email notification.

Please allow a few days to be notified of your nomination. We internally review all of the nominations that are submitted. If an email were not provided during the initial nomination submission, this would further delay notification time. If you do not receive an email notification within this time frame, please email network@socialhealthnetwork.com with the subject line “Nomination Notification Missing.”

I’ve been nominated, now what?

Once nominated, you will receive a nomination notification email 2-3 days after submitting your nomination. From there, you’ll be asked to create or update your patient leader profile to be displayed in the nominee directory. Please note, you must complete the ‘About tab of your patient leader profile to qualify for the program. This information is what judges reference when selecting finalists and winners. Once that’s done, we typically encourage nominees to share their profile on social and ask for their communities’ support for other category nominations or endorsements. A media kit will be sent to all nominees and is available on the Social Health Network platform for easy sharing.

I tried to submit a nomination, but I’m unsure if it went through.

You should receive an email to confirm your nomination after submitting it. Please allow 2-3 days for your nominee to be notified of your nomination. Nomination notification will be delayed if the nominee’s email was not provided during your initial submission. If unsure, please email network@socialhealthnetwork.com with the subject line “Nomination Confirmation Inquiry.”

What’s the difference between nominations and endorsements?

Nominations allow you to recognize a patient leader for their efforts and energy in a particular area or platform. For instance, if you know a patient leader pushing patient advocacy forward on TikTok, and blazing new innovative avenues for community support, nominate them for the Advocacy Trailblazer award. Please note, nominations are open from May 1 – May 22.

Endorsements are a way to show your support or affirm a nominee’s nomination for a specific award category. For instance, if a nominee is already nominated for Community Cultivator, and you‘d like to affirm and endorse the work they’re doing to build community across the health landscape, you can endorse them for this category. You can think of it as a vote! Please note, that endorsements are only open from May 15 – May 22.

If a nominee is already nominated for a specific award category, we encourage you to endorse them (once open) for that category or nominate them for a new category. The number of nominations does not increase the chances of winning. However, the endorsement count can qualify a nominee to be an auto-finalist.

Do I need a lot of followers to win?

No! While the three nominees with the highest endorsement numbers in each category will automatically become finalists, the three additional finalists will be determined by numerous factors aside from endorsement count or community size by our judging panelists.

General Questions:

How did the Social Health Awards get started? What are the Social Health Awards?

The Social Health Awards were created to embody the mission of the Social Health Network: to empower patient leaders.

Previously known as the WEGO Health Awards, this program has proven to be one of the best ways to honor, recognize, and celebrate the work of patient leaders for over a decade.

Though we’ve made some exciting enhancements to this year’s program, our goal and intention remain the same: to empower and celebrate those leading the online health community – because the work of patient leaders is something to celebrate!

How can I get involved?

We’d love to have you nominate all the great patient leaders you know – those working tirelessly on their social channels, speaking engagements, consulting gigs, and other platforms.

We urge you to share the Social Health Awards with your friends, family, fans, followers, and network. Everyone is welcome to nominate someone and help us ensure we recognize all the great leaders out there.

Tell me more about the Social Health Network?

The Social Health Network is a community for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to bring empathy, support, and humanity to the healthcare industry. The Social Health Network offers free online resources, panels, networking events, and paid opportunities to amplify your voice as a health leader.

What is a patient leader?

A patient leader uses either his or her health journey or the journey of a loved one to raise awareness, share knowledge, and help others. They leverage social media to amplify their voice, connect with peers, and build communities. When building a more patient-centered, consumer-driven healthcare ecosystem, patient leaders are the thought leaders and transformers that industry leaders turn to for insights and expertise.

What are the Social Health Awards categories?

From Advocacy Trailblazer to Caregiving Champion, these categories are designed to showcase the vast diversity of the patient community, and the various forms of advocacy across all condition areas and platforms.

The 10 award categories for the Social Health Awards are:

Lifetime Achievement Award

Healthcare Collaborator

Community Cultivator

Advocacy Trailblazer

Social Media Master

Creative Contributor

Rookie of the Year

Best Team

Revolutionary Researcher

Caregiving Champion

Who has won the Social Health Awards in previous years?

We’ve been lucky to have some fantastic winners over the last few years. Click here to meet them all. Note: In years past, the Social Health Awards were known as the WEGO Health Awards.

Can I tweet, blog, Facebook, etc., about the Social Health Awards?

Yes – we’d love for you to share the Social Health Awards with your community members. Use the hashtag #SocialHealthAwards on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram.

Nominations:

Who should be nominated? Who can win a Social Health Award?

Anyone who is an active and leading member of an online community, and making a difference in healthcare, is eligible to be nominated. He or she should provide the community with valuable information and support to make a difference for other patients and caregivers.

Think about the patients and caregivers you see leading Facebook groups, blogging about their health journey, speaking up and giving insights to healthcare companies, presenting on national stages, and running Twitter chats. Patient leaders have started non-profits, published podcast episodes, and authored books. There is no shortage of patient leaders’ contributions to the world, so let’s recognize as many of them as possible for their talents, contributions, and commitment.

To be considered a finalist and ultimately a winner, individuals must be 18 years of age or older. Nominees under 18 can be recognized but are not eligible to be finalists.

How did you come up with the categories? Can I only use those to nominate someone?

The Social Health Awards were created based on patient leader feedback; the same is true of our categories. Each year, they might change, but they’re created with you and your community in mind. We’ll only select winners for the categories in our nomination form, but we’re always open to suggestions.

How do I nominate someone?

Go to our Social Health Awards nominations to get started. Tell us who you want to recognize, where you follow them online, and the award you think they should win. Once you’re finished nominating your favorite patient leader, feel free to share that nomination with your community or tweet with the hashtag #SocialHealthAwards. And be sure to nominate early and often; we want to recognize as many patient leaders as possible.

Can I nominate myself?

How will I know if I am nominated?

Each nominee will be notified via email and social media (as applicable) and can complete/update their patient leader profile with additional information about themselves and their activism. Please allow 2-3 days from nomination submission to be notified. Please note nomination notification may be delayed if an email is not provided during the initial submission. Visitors will be able to see all of our nominees – and endorse them – in the Social Health Awards Nominee Directory.

Can I tell the person I nominated about the nomination? Can my nomination be anonymous?

That is entirely up to you. If you’d like to share your nomination with the nominee, your community, or others – go for it. It’s a great way to remind patient leaders how important they are to you and others in the community. However, if you’d rather keep your nomination anonymous, check the “anonymous” box on the nomination form. This will ensure that the nominee does not know who nominated them for the Social Health Award.

I’ve been nominated but not in the Nominee Directory. How do I get added?

The Nominee Directory was created to showcase all of our fantastic nominees and to give your community members a place to endorse you, so we want to make sure you’ve been added.

As a nominee, you should receive a notification email 24 – 72 hours after your nomination is submitted. If you haven’t received an alert after 3 days, please email us at network@socialhealthnetwork.com , and we’ll make sure to get you set up.

How long will it take for me to make my patient leader profile?

It should only take a few minutes, but you can spend as much time as you’d like creating and adding to your patient leader profile. Social Health Awards judges will reference the information you provide in your profile while selecting finalists and winners. Please note, you must at least complete the ‘About’ tab of your Social Health profile to qualify to move into the judging part of the program.

I made a mistake in my patient leader profile. What can I do?

If you need to make a change in your profile, all you need to do is log in to your Social Health Network account and edit your profile. Ensure all fields are complete so viewers and Social Health Awards judges can have a complete snapshot of your advocacy.

Do I need multiple nominations to win?

The number of nominations does not increase the chances of winning; however, the endorsement count can qualify a nominee as an auto-finalist. If a nominee is already nominated for a specific award category, we encourage you to endorse them (once open) for that category or nominate them for an additional award category.
For instance, if you believe a patient leader deserves to be recognized as Social Media Master, but they are already nominated for that category, it’s more beneficial for you to endorse them in that category than to nominate them for Social Media Master again. However, if you’d like to include a specific nomination reason to be listed on the nominee’s public profile, you are more than welcome to re-nominate them and show your support (don’t forget also to endorse the nominee on May 15 – 22!)

What if I was nominated and want to withdraw the nomination?

We hope you’ll see your nomination as validation from your community members, but we understand it’s not for everyone. If you want to withdraw your nomination, please email us at network@socialhealthnetwork.com.

Where can I see all of the nominations?

You can view all of our nominees and finalists in the Nominee Directory. All nominees are featured in our Nominee Directory through their self-made profiles and on the Social Health Network Twitter page. The public profile will show the information the nominee chooses to display and public nominations.

What are the dates for nominations to open and close?

Nominations will run from May 1, 2023, and close May 22, 2023.

Can I nominate more than one person?

Definitely, we’d love for you to recognize as many patient leaders as possible.

Are there requirements to nominate someone? (Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram?)

Certain categories do have requirements. For example, if someone is nominated for “Healthcare Collaborator”, they must be collaborating with healthcare in some form, such as speaking at industry conferences. The most important requirement, though, is that this person has made a difference for you and other patients and is making an impact in the healthcare world.

Please note, to be considered a finalist and ultimately a winner, individuals must be 18 years of age or older. Nominees under 18 can be recognized but are not eligible to be finalists.

How do I choose the right award for my favorite patient leader nominees?

We recommend taking a moment to consider what your nominee does differently than others. What makes them special? What will impress our judges?

Are they a new advocate who has immediately impacted the patient community? Nominate them for the “Rookie of the Year” award.

Similarly, do you know a group of advocates working together to create incredible change in the online health space? Maybe they deserve recognition in the “Best Team” category.

Is this patient leader continually showing up at the top of your social media feeds with creative and impactful content? They’d be the perfect nominee for “Social Media Master.”

We urge you to read all the Social Health Network award category descriptions and nominate the patient leaders you think would be the best fit.

What type of patient leader should be nominated for the “Lifetime Achievement” Award or “Rookie of the Year” Award? Is it required that they have advocated for a certain amount of time?

Is there someone you know who seems to fit ALL categories – someone who is rocking it on all channels and truly making a real change in the community? The “Lifetime Achievement” award celebrates the men and women who tirelessly spread awareness for their condition(s) through multiple channels and have been doing so for many years. There are no set standards to win this award, but these individuals truly represent the best of the best. Alternatively, the Rookie of the Year Award honors those who are only started advocating within the last few months or years, yet have already made an incredible impact.

What if someone gets nominated that I don’t think should be recognized or should win?

We leave the Social Health Awards open and respect the community’s ability to choose the advocates they think are best for the award categories. If you have a particular concern about one of the nominees, please email us at network@socialhealthnetwork.com.

Can I still nominate and/or endorse other nominees if I’m nominated?

Yes, we encourage nominees to help spread the word and recognize their fellow patient leaders. We always look to our Social Health Network to ensure the best and brightest are nominated each year, so get out there, nominate, and endorse today.

How can I help raise awareness about my nomination within my community?
Get the news out there by tweeting, blogging, posting on Facebook, and using any social platforms you have to inform your communities about the nomination. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #SocialHealthAwards to increase your reach. Ensure your community knows that once the endorsement period opens, you’ll look to them to endorse your nomination.

Endorsements:

What is an endorsement?
An endorsement is a way to give nominees a visual show of support. The endorsement button can be found on each nominee’s patient leader profile. You can only endorse a nominee once per award category they are nominated for.

There are six finalists in each award category. To ensure the program’s integrity, half of the finalists (3) will be determined through endorsement count, and half (3) will be selected through our judging process.

What happens when I endorse a nominee? Is it the same as voting?
Endorsements were created to allow community members to participate in the Social Health Awards. Think of it as giving your favorite patient leaders a shout-out or virtual hug.

In response to feedback from the community, the endorsement process helps select top patient leaders to move on to the finalist round. The three most endorsed nominees in each award category will automatically become finalists. So, if you are nominated for an award, ask your friends, family, and community members to take a moment to endorse your efforts.

There are six finalists within each category and our panel of distinguished judges selects the final award winner.

Can I endorse more than one person?

While you can only endorse each nominee once per nominated category per email address, you can endorse as many people as you like. If you want to spread the love and endorse others, feel free to do so. Endorsements will run May 15 – May 22, 2023.

Do likes/tweets count as endorsements?

While showing your support through Facebook likes or tweets is appreciated by the nominees, we will not count that form of social media support towards endorsements.

Can I still become a finalist if I do not get a high number of endorsements?

Yes. While the three nominees with the highest endorsement numbers in each category will automatically become finalists, the three additional finalists will be determined by numerous additional factors aside from endorsements by our judging panelists.

Can nominees endorse each other?

Absolutely. We want the patient leaders to be able to support each other. You can only endorse each nominee once, but you can endorse as many nominees as you’d like.

Can I ask my community to endorse me?

Of course, use your community to your advantage. Contact your Facebook communities, social groups, foundations you work with, and more. Get your community involved, have them check out your patient leader profile, and show their support by endorsing you.

When does the endorsement process start? When does it stop?

The endorsement process will run May 15 – 22, 2023.

What happens at the end of the endorsement process?

Following the conclusion of the endorsement process, we will calculate the number of endorsements for each nominee and select the top three endorsed patient leaders in each category to become finalists. The judging process will then continue with the remainder of the nominees to select the rest of the finalists in each category. The full judging process will begin upon selecting the finalists in each category.

Please note, if a nominee is an auto-finalist for more than two award categories due to a high endorsement account, the Social Health Network team will reach out and allow this nominee to select only two categories to be a finalist for. This change has been implemented due to community feedback and guidance from our patient leader advisory board members.

How do you pick the winners?

Once the top six finalists in each award category have been selected over three rounds of judging, we move into the final round of judging. Top industry experts convene to review the six finalists based on their use of social media, their fit for the award for which they’ve been nominated, and how effectively they engage their online community. Judges score individually, and then Health Union tallies these scores to identify the winners. No one knows the winners until we make the announcement at Health Union’s virtual Connexion conference.

I want to be a judge for the Social Health Awards. How can I do that?

If you’re interested in participating, please email us at awards@socialhealthnetwork.com with the subject line ‘Be a Judge’ and we’ll give you additional details.

Can judges be nominees or Social Health Awards Award winners?

We do allow those who were nominated to participate in the judging process. However, if a judge is nominated for a certain award, they are not allowed to judge that category. We also give the judge the option to either remove themselves from the running or give up their judge’s spot.

How do you pick your judges?

Many patient leaders, patients, caregivers, industry leaders, previous winners, finalists, and Social Health Network members connect with us throughout the year and tell us they’d love to be involved in the Social Health Awards. The Social Health Network team compiles a list of those enthusiasts throughout the year and connects with each before our Social Health Awards season. We then chat about the details, time commitment, and what is expected of the judges. Once they confirm they would like to participate officially, they are selected.

How do you score the nominees? What criteria do judges use when selecting semi-finalists, finalists, and winners?

Judges score nominees on the following criteria:

Fit for the Award: How well does this person fit the category they are nominated for? (i.e. if they are nominated for Rookie of the Year, have they only recently started their Activism?)

Use of Social Media: How well does this patient leader use social media for their activism? Are they active, engaged, and responsive on their networks? Are they power users of social media and active on multiple profiles?

Focus on sharing of information and overall engagement: How well does this patient leader balance sharing of their own content with the sharing of others’ content and information?

How is Health Union involved in the judging process?
The Health Union team manages the judging process but is NOT involved with selecting finalists and winners. We help facilitate the judging panels, but we rely primarily on the scores provided by our judging panel when ultimately scoring nominees.

What information are judges provided regarding nominees?

The judges are provided with all the information entered by the Social Health Awards nominee. We allow each nominee to build a patient leader profile that includes a bio, links to their social channels, and anything they’d want the judges to know about their activism that may help them in the selection process. Please note: to move to the judging process, a nominee MUST complete the ‘About’ tab of their patient leader profile. The judges who select the winner from the six finalists convene on a conference call to discuss each nominee with the other judges.

How many judges are involved in the process?

The number depends on the number of nominations we collect throughout the process. We’ve had up to 300 judges participate in the judging process. The more nominations we receive, the more judges we will need. During our first round of judging, we confirm we have enough judges to ensure each nomination is accurately reviewed and considered for the final three finalist spots for the award category.

Do the judges get anything for judging?

Fellow patient leaders complete the first three rounds of judging – they will receive 300 points on the Social Health Network platform if they complete all scoring.

Industry professionals complete the final round of judging. This is a voluntary opportunity.

Winners & Prizes

Who can win a Social Health Award?

Anyone who publicly focuses on health online is eligible. They can be involved with any health focus or condition, on any platform or location. If they advocate for health, they can win. Employees of Health Union or their immediate family members are not eligible for these awards.

What does the winner get?

Winners will be invited to the Fierce Pharma Marketing Awards, an exclusive in-person award ceremony in Philadelphia, PA, in September.

Health Union and FiercePharma are partnering to celebrate this year’s Social Health Awards. This year’s winner prize pack includes:

Attendance to the Social Health Awards presentation and networking reception

Transportation and accommodations for up to two nights in Philadelphia, PA for the Social Health Awards celebration and Digital Pharma East event this September.

Access to the Digital Pharma East conference and networking events

Invitation to join as a compensated 2024 Health Union Patient Leadership Council (PLC) member

A personalized Social Health Awards plaque

A shipment of the latest Social Health Awards swag

Please note:

The prize pack value is not transferable for cash or additional travel if participants cannot attend.

The prize pack includes transportation and attendance for one individual aside from the Best Team category, which includes accommodations for up to two team members.

To be considered a finalist and ultimately a winner, individuals must be 18 years of age or older. Nominees under 18 can be recognized but are not eligible to be finalists.

For the winners who choose to attend the in-person celebration, Health Union will book and cover economy airfare to and from Pennsylvania, PA, as well as accommodations for two evenings.

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How do I win? And how will I know if I am the winner?

Once nomination and endorsements close, we will start our program’s judging phase. We pull together judging panels comprised of your fellow patient leaders and industry leaders. These panels will review all of our nominations, select finalists, and then review each finalist, scoring them on their social contributions, fit for the award, and community engagement. These scores are tallied across the judging panel, and the winner is selected based on those scores.

All finalists and winners will be personally notified via email.

Do I have to have thousands of followers/readers/blog posts/etc.to win?

No. Any patient advocate, influencer, or expert is eligible to win, no matter where they are on their journey or how big their community or communities are. In fact, we have a few award categories tailored specifically to patient leaders who are just starting their advocacy journey.

I’d like to donate something for the prize pack; how do I do that?

Thank you for your interest in supporting the Social Health Awards. We’d love to talk with you about the options for donating something to our prize pack. Please email us at network@socialhealthnetwork.com, and we’ll connect with you directly.

Can someone win more than one award?

Each award is judged on an individual basis. Due to this fact, a patient leader can be a finalist (or a winner) of more than one category. This doesn’t happen often, but it is not against the rules.

Does Health Union expect anything from the winners in the future?

Social Health Award Winners aren’t committed to anything specific, but we do like to work with them as much as possible following the Social Health Awards. This can include featuring them on our sites, connecting them with our sponsors for paid gigs, or inviting them to speaking engagements. As part of the prize pack, they win a seat on our 2024 Social Health Network Patient Leadership Council if they choose to take it. It is not required, and the winner can turn down the opportunity.

I have a question and/or a suggestion that isn’t listed here. What should I do?

Send any questions you have to network@socialhealthnetwork.com, with the subject line ‘Social Health Awards Question.’