Posts Characterization and User Engagement

Anushia Inthiran

doi:10.4018/ijhisi.20211001.oa33

Abstract

Many health organizations use Facebook as a platform to engage with users. This has resulted in many research studies conducted on this platform. One popular type of research study is to characterize posts and measure user engagement levels . In this study, 100 post on the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand Facebook page was analyzed this purpose. A mixed method approach was used. Quantitative descriptive statistics was used to analyze levels of engagement whilst qualitative content analysis was used to characterize posts into themes. Preliminary results indicate most posts fit in the awareness theme followed by the campaign theme. High levels of user engagements was observed for posts related to the awareness and others theme. Results of this study makes the suggestion for the implementation of intervention type awareness posts. A recommendation is also to made that the awareness posts promote mental health education and communication. This research study adds new knowledge to the area of posts characterization and user engagement levels on a mental health Facebook page.

Highlights

Across the globe, no less than 792 million people have suffered from mental illness (Ritchie & Roser, 2018) with this number projected to swell
It is important to know to how Facebook mental health pages engage with users and how users engage with mental health Facebook pages
This study, which has been conducted on the NZMHF Facebook page, indicates that most of the posts fell under the awareness theme (24%), followed by the campaign theme (20%)

Summary

Introduction

No less than 792 million people have suffered from mental illness (Ritchie & Roser, 2018) with this number projected to swell. User engagement levels provide information on how social and emotional transformation and appraisal support takes place (Zhang, et al, 2013). It explains how companionship may be cultivated implicitly over a health issue (Zhang, et al, 2013). Examples of posts from NZ-originated websites come from the Rolleston College, Massey University Maori Videos, Stuff, the Mental Health Organization, After Suicide New Zealand, All Right, The New Zealand Herald, NewsHub, Radio New Zealand, Like Minds Like Mine and The Spinoff, Mindfulness Education New Zealand, Entertainment Book New Zealand, AllRight, HeadFirst and The Nation. As anticipated, Internationalbased website shared postings were not as many as shared posts originating from NZ-based websites

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion