Abstract
BackgroundFacebook is widely used by Australia’s First Nations people and has significant potential to promote health. However, evidence-based guidelines for its use in health promotion are lacking. Smoking prevalence among Australia’s First Nations people is nearly 3 times higher than other Australians. Locally designed programs in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHOs) to reduce smoking often use Facebook.ObjectiveThis study reports on an analysis of the reach and engagement of Facebook posts with smoking prevention and cessation messages posted by ACCHOs in the Northern Territory, Australia.MethodsEach service posted tobacco control content at least weekly for approximately 6 months. Posts were coded for the following variables: service posted, tailored First Nations Australian content, local or nonlocally produced content, video or nonvideo, communication technique, and emotional appeal. The overall reach, shares, and reactions were calculated.ResultsCompared with posts developed by the health services, posts with content created by other sources had greater reach (adjusted incident rate ratio [IRR] 1.92, 95% CI 1.03-3.59). Similarly, reactions to posts (IRR 1.89, 95% CI 1.40-2.56) and shared posts (IRR 2.17, 95% CI 1.31-3.61) with content created by other sources also had more reactions, after controlling for reach, as did posts with local First Nations content compared with posts with no First Nations content (IRR 1.71, 95% CI 1.21-2.34).ConclusionsFacebook posts with nonlocally produced content can be an important component of a social media campaign run by local health organizations. With the exception of nonlocally produced content, we did not find a definitive set of characteristics that were clearly associated with reach, shares, and reactions. Beyond reach, shares, and likes, further research is needed to understand the extent that social media content can influence health behavior.
Highlights
Social Media and HealthSocial media are an essential component of public health, as a tool for health communication, an avenue for consumers seeking information, and an environment that shapes health, analogous to the influence of the built environment [1]
Numerous reviews have concluded that social media have the potential to positively affect health but have found either mixed [5,6] or no definitive evidence [7,8,9,10,11] of their impact on health behavior, even as research in the field has significantly increased in recent years
Social media are an opportunity for health services to engage in building social capital within their communities [15] and a potentially cost-effective way to achieve significant reach for social marketing and health promotion [3]
Summary
Social Media and HealthSocial media are an essential component of public health, as a tool for health communication, an avenue for consumers seeking information, and an environment that shapes health, analogous to the influence of the built environment [1]. Social media are an opportunity for health services to engage in building social capital within their communities [15] and a potentially cost-effective way to achieve significant reach for social marketing and health promotion [3]. Designed programs in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHOs) to reduce smoking often use Facebook. Posts were coded for the following variables: service posted, tailored First Nations Australian content, local or nonlocally produced content, video or nonvideo, communication technique, and emotional appeal. Conclusions: Facebook posts with nonlocally produced content can be an important component of a social media campaign run by local health organizations. Shares, and likes, further research is needed to understand the extent that social media content can influence health behavior
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