iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

✨ New special issue✨ I’m thrilled to be guest editing my first special issue, “Communicating with Young People” for Health Literacy and Communication Open alongside A/Prof Stephanie Partridge. If you’re working in youth health literacy or communication, we’d be delighted to see your work! 🔗 below

Infographic advertising special issue. It features a stock image of young people and text that reads: Special Issue. Communicating with Young People. Manuscript deadline 30 November 2026. We invite submissions that examine how health literacy and communication can be strengthened to improve health and wellbeing amongst young people, their families and health systems. Explore communication and health literacy strategies that can support children, adolescents and young/emerging adults across diverse health contexts.

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Final presenter in the co-design stream! Dr Amy Von Huben presenting on consumer preferences for digital health technologies for primary healthcare in remote Indigenous Australian communities📱 @digitalhealthweek.bsky.social

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Next: Adnan Asger Ali presenting on organisations perspectives on digital care pathways for people with musculoskeletal conditions living in rural Australia 💪📱 @digitalhealthweek.bsky.social

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Next: Dr Adam Poulsen presenting on attuning digital mental health tools to young Australian voices 📱🧠 @digitalhealthweek.bsky.social @adampoulsen.bsky.social

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Next: Jemma Mulligan presenting on co-design of digital strategies with rural allied health clinicians in implementing a clinical pathway of care for people with musculoskeletal condition 💪 @digitalhealthweek.bsky.social

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Next up: Tiffany Tsoukalas presenting on co-design of an AI-powered avatar intervention to bridge hospital and home in cancer surgery recovery 🏥

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

🗣️Live from the ‘Co-design in Digital Health’ stream! Georgette Borel & Tariq Isaacs presenting on educational resources for smoking & vaping in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people 🚬 @digitalhealthweek.bsky.social

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

V interesting keynote by A/Prof Naseem Ahmadpour, who gave an overview of her work in design & virtual reality (VR) in healthcare. Naseem calls out the tensions and patient expectations she noticed across her work & strategies to keep interventions person-centred📱 @digitalhealthweek.bsky.social

Dr Naseem Ahmadpour standing in front of her PowerPoint slide

Dr Naseem Ahmadpour in front of slide about our expectations of technologies beyond cure.

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

I’m part of the #DigitalHealthWeek2026 Organising Committee, so you’ll see me sharing some highlights on here, as well as chairing & judging some sessions in person. Shoutout to the OC & our chairs Drs Julie Ayre & Adeola Bamgboje-Ayodele @julieayre.bsky.social @digitalhealthweek.bsky.social

Conference chairs standing in front of slide with names of organising committee

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Keen to kick off #DigitalHealthWeek2026 at University of Sydney today! Looking forward to hearing from researchers, tech & health experts on “Digital Futures: Rethinking Health & Care”📱 @digitalhealthweek.bsky.social @sydney.edu.au @sydneyfmh-emcr.bsky.social @sydneyhealthliteracylab.org.au 🛟 🧪

Conference organisers standing in front of a slide that reads “digital health week 2026”

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

#PhDone! Super excited to announce I’ve been awarded my PhD with no emendations! Excited for the next chapter at the Sydney Health Literacy Lab where I’ll continue researching young people and digital health literacy as a postdoc 💫 @sydney.edu.au @sydneyfmh-emcr.bsky.social #AcademicSky

Melody standing in front of a University of Sydney building holding thesis

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

5️⃣: Engage more with the public Young people want to see public health agencies engage with the public on social media. They want two-way conversations rather than impersonal one-way messaging from a faceless entity. 📲

Graphic reads "engage more with the public. Enable two-way conversations to build trust with young people". Illustration shows an expert and young person talking through 2 phones.

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

4️⃣: Use current social media marketing Young people expect engaging and trendy content on social media, even from public health agencies. Collaborate with influencers, use humour and memes … but avoid coming across as cringeworthy and be sure to create content with a young person. 🫠

Graphic reads "Use current social media marketing. Use influencers, memes, try trends and follow platform norms". Illustration shows influencer taking selfies and sharing posts with lots of likes and hearts.

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

3️⃣: Capture attention fast Young people only spend a few seconds on a post before moving on. ⏰ Use a hook and strong visual to capture attention fast, before delivering the message elsewhere in the post.

Graphic reads "capture attention fast. Use an engaging hook with strong visual to get attention". Illustration features a timer showing 2 seconds and a phone with a fish hook.

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

2️⃣: Pitch at right level Consider young people’s social contexts and health literacy needs when creating content. Messages need to be simple, relevant and include easy calls to action that young people can do. ✅

Graphic reads "Pitch at right level. Simple relevant messages with tailored calls to action" Illustration shows a long complex document turning into easy to read document with bullet points and infographics.

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

1️⃣: Involve young people Young people like content created by other young people. Feature “regular” young people that they can relate to and involve them behind the scenes in the content creation process. 🎥

Graphic which reads "1. Involve young people. Get them in the spotlight and behind the scenes". Illustration includes 2 young people filming each other.

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

📱Interested in reaching young people with health communication via social media? 🤔 💡We co-designed 5 recommendations with young people and health communicators! Read thread or visit site for more: www.sydneyhealthliteracylab.org.au/social-media... Article 🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Graphic that reads "Trying to reach young people with social media health communication? We co-designed these 5 recommendations with young people and professional health communicators". Includes illustration of young people holding phone.

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

My PhD framework is now LIVE! We co-designed 5 recommendations for improving social media health communication to young people, with young people and health orgs📱 🔗: www.sydneyhealthliteracylab.org.au/social-media-comms-for-young-people-framework #AcademicSky #PhDSky #PhDSky #PublicHealth 🦘🎓

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Mug update: PhD supervisors think it’s tea-riffic way to disseminate my research! ☕️ Even the illustrated figure came out mug-nificantly! Full paper on social media comms: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @carissabonner.bsky.social @julieayre.bsky.social @kirstenmccaffery.bsky.social

3 PhD supervisors holding mug which has a research article printed on it.

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

I printed my PhD paper on a mug! Full paper: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @sydney.edu.au #AcademicSky #PhDSky #PublicHealth 🦘🎓

Image of research paper abstract printed on a mug

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Our final 5 recommendations for social media health communication to young people are: 1️⃣ Involve young people 🤝 2️⃣ Pitch at right level ✅ 3️⃣ Capture attention fast‼️ 4️⃣ Use current social media marketing 🤠 5️⃣ Engage more with the public 🤳🏽 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

We used #ParticipatoryActionResearch methods for this project, and partnered with 3 youth co-researchers, who helped facilitate and analyse the 3 #codesign workshops with young people and health communicators. The 5 recommendations were finalised after multiple iterations…

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Finally submitted my PhD after three and half years of study! I’m currently overwhelmed with feelings but just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey, especially my incredible supervisors A/Prof Carissa Bonner, Dr Julie Ayre & Prof Kirsten McCaffery ❤️

Melody holding copy of thesis outside School of Public Health

Melody and supervisors outside School of Public Health

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Dr Melody Taba @melodytaba.bsky.social · 07/11/2024

Finally added Bluesky to my social media collection! 💎 Obligatory intro post - I’m a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney researching how we can use social media for effective health communication to young people 📲 I 🫶 online communities so keen to connect and learn more about the platform!

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