Abstract
BackgroundThe use of social media for sexual health communication is gaining intense discussion both globally and in Africa. Despite this reality, it remains unclear whether and how young African adults use digital innovations like social media to access sexual health information. More importantly, the unique properties of messages that increase message reach and propagation are not well understood. This study aims to fill the gaps in scholarship by identifying post features and content associated with greater user engagement.MethodsWe analyzed a corpus of 3533 sexual and reproductive health messages shared on a public Facebook group by and for young African adults between June 1, 2018, and May 31, 2019, to understand better the unique features associated with higher engagement with peer-generated sexual health education. Facebook posts were independently classified into thematic categories such as topic, strategy, and tone of communication.ResultsThe participants generally engaged with posts superficially by liking (x̃ = 54; x̄ = 109.28; σ = 159.24) rather than leaving comments (x̃ = 10; x̄ = 32.03; σ = 62.65) or sharing (x̃ = 3; x̄ = 11.34; σ = 55.12) the wallposts. Messages with fear [IRR:0.75, 95% CI: 0.66–0.86] or guilt [IRR:0.82, 95% CI: 0.72–0.92] appeals received a significantly lower number of reactions compared to neutral messages. Messages requesting an opinion [IRR:4.25, 95% CI: 3.57–5.10] had a significantly higher number of comments compared to status updates. The use of multimedia and storytelling formats were also significantly associated with a higher level of engagement and propagation of sexual health messages on the group.ConclusionYoung adults in our sample tend to superficially interact with peer-communicated sexual health information through likes than engage (comments) or propagate such messages. Message features that increase engagements and propagation of messages include multimedia and engaging styles like storytelling. Our findings provide valuable insight and pave the way for the design of effective and context-specific sexual health information use of features that attract young African adults.
Highlights
IntroductionSocial media platforms offer new channels for health communication that, when matched to the needs and preferences of the target audience, can increase the chances of programming success [22]
The use of social media for sexual health communication is gaining intense discussion both globally and in Africa
Our findings provide valuable insight and pave the way for the design of effective and context-specific sexual health information use of features that attract young African adults
Summary
Social media platforms offer new channels for health communication that, when matched to the needs and preferences of the target audience, can increase the chances of programming success [22] This could be because, unlike other methods of disseminating sexual health information, social media sites offer a multidirectional communication model in which audience members participate actively in discussions and share their knowledge and experiences, rather than being passive recipients of sexual health information [23, 24]. These multidirectional engagements offer a promising opportunity to understand young people’s perspectives and identify dominant stereotypes and misinformation while correcting misinformation and addressing concerns that emerge from such interactions [25, 26]
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