Abstract
BackgroundSocial networking services (SNSs) are recognized to be a promising approach to easily deliver health interventions and to enhance social support for exercise adherence. However, the patterns and aspects of social support through SNSs have not been reported and their influence on other social-cognitive factors remains inconclusive.ObjectiveOur objective is to explore how social support delivered through SNSs impacts interactions among Korean-Chinese (KC) middle-aged women and to identify how this approach influences social-cognitive factors for exercise (eg, sense of community, self-efficacy for exercise, and social support for exercise).MethodsA mixed methods design was used. Text analysis of SNS messages and text mining using the Korean Natural Language Application (KoALA) were conducted. Social-cognitive factors (eg, sense of community, self-efficacy for exercise, and social support for exercise) were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks using a structured questionnaire. A comparison of social-cognitive factors at baseline and at 12 weeks was conducted to identify any potential significant changes, using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.ResultsA total of 259 SNS messages were collected from 24 KC women, distributed among four chat groups, who participated in a 12-week walking intervention program between August and October 2018. The individual average frequency of chatting via the SNS was 10.79 (range 0-34) and the most frequent type of social support through the SNS was network support (172/259, 66.4%). The most common words extracted from the SNS were Health, Exercise, Participation, and We. Overall, the perceived levels of sense of community (P<.001) and social support for exercise (P=.002) were significantly increased at 12 weeks compared with baseline. Group 1 (P=.03) and Group 4 (P=.03), whose members demonstrated the highest frequency of network support, experienced a significant increase only in the level of sense of community.ConclusionsBy integrating these data and conducting a mixed methods analysis, we observed that among the types of social support, network support was a key point for the promotion of social-cognitive factors in increasing exercise adherence. Therefore, network support through SNS-based interventions should be considered as a useful strategy to help vulnerable migrant populations make changes to exercise behaviors.
Highlights
Social Networking Services as Useful Tools for Health PromotionInterpersonal relationships and social interactions are shifting from face-to-face to online environments due to the development of the internet and smart devices, as well as an increase in economic development [1]
By integrating these data and conducting a mixed methods analysis, we observed that among the types of social support, network support was a key point for the promotion of social-cognitive factors in increasing exercise adherence
This study analyzed Social networking services (SNSs) messages shared among KC middle-aged women who participated in mobile app–based health promotion programs to examine the patterns of social support and to identify keywords and their associations through text mining
Summary
Social Networking Services as Useful Tools for Health PromotionInterpersonal relationships and social interactions are shifting from face-to-face to online environments due to the development of the internet and smart devices, as well as an increase in economic development [1]. Physical activities are important for managing the health of middle-aged women, migrant groups often have lower participation rates in programs that promote a healthy lifestyle compared to other groups, due to cultural differences, insufficient knowledge of health services, and limited access [9,10]; access may be considerably limited due to the working environment (eg, less flexible and less autonomous) compared with native Koreans [10] These women face many other barriers, including physical-related barriers (eg, lack of time and space to exercise), knowledge-related barriers (eg, lack of knowledge about exercise), psychological barriers (eg, low self-efficacy), and lack of social support [11]. The patterns and aspects of social support through SNSs have not been reported and their influence on other social-cognitive factors remains inconclusive
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