Abstract
BackgroundResearch in fall prevention programs has increased in recent years in response to the aging demographics of the United States. To date, limited research and outreach programs have focused on ethnic minorities due to increased cost, language barriers, and cultural differences. Digital media platforms may be a cost-effective avenue to initiate fall prevention programs for minority populations.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to determine whether Facebook advertisements are a practical recruitment method for health education to the Chinese-speaking population.MethodsThis was an observational, cross-sectional study. We uploaded a video on fall education on YouTube and initiated an advertisement campaign on Facebook that was linked to the video. The target population was older adults aged >45 years who used Facebook and were presented with the advertisement (N=1039). We recorded metrics such as the number of unique individuals reached, the number of views of the advertisement, the number of clicks, user gender and age, and traffic sources to the advertisement. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics.ResultsOur Facebook advertisement had 1087 views (1039 unique viewers). There were 121 link clicks with a click-through rate of 11.13% (121/1087). The cost per link click was approximately US $0.06. Among the viewers, 91.41% (936/1024) were females and 8.59% (88/1024) were males. In the 45-54 age group, the ad reached 50 people, with 1 link click (2.00%). In the 55-64 age group, the ad reached 572 people, with 57 link clicks (9.97%). In the ≥65 age group, the ad reached 417 people, with 63 link clicks (15.11%).ConclusionsFacebook was able to directly target the advertisement to the desired older ethnic population at a low cost. Engagement was highest among females and among those aged ≥65 years. Hence, our results suggest that Facebook can serve as an alternative platform for dissemination of health information to geriatric patients in addition to print-based and face-to-face communication.
Highlights
Falls are highly prevalent among older adults in the United States
This study demonstrates that Facebook was able to attract viewers to Web-based health education resources at low cost, as well as correctly target the advertisement at the desired older ethnic population
On comparing with similar studies that were instead targeted toward younger adults, click-through rate of 11.13% (121/1087) of the older adults was almost 4 times as high as that of younger adults engaged with digital media advertising in other health outreach studies [17]; this suggests that older Chinese-American individuals have a relatively high interest in falls-related education, and they may be more receptive to remote health education compared with younger adults
Summary
Falls are highly prevalent among older adults in the United States. As the percentage of older adults in the United States continues to increase, it is estimated that the number of fatal falls among older adults is projected to reach 100,000 per year by 2030, with an associated cost of US $100 billion [4]. In response to the aging demographics in the United States, new guidelines and outreach programs are being implemented and reformed. Research in fall prevention programs has increased in recent years in response to the aging demographics of the United States. To date, limited research and outreach programs have focused on ethnic minorities due to increased cost, language barriers, and cultural differences. Digital media platforms may be a cost-effective avenue to initiate fall prevention programs for minority populations
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