scholarly journals Understanding how young African adults interact with peer-generated sexual health information on Facebook and uncovering strategies for successful organic engagement

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Olamijuwon ◽  
Odimegwu Clifford ◽  
Visseho Adjiwanou
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Sexual Health Information ◽  
Sexual Health Communication ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Context Specific

Abstract Background The 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. Methods We 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. Results The 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. Conclusion Young 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.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Sexual Health Behaviors of Black Male Adolescents and Young Adults Through Social Media Platforms: Web-Based Survey Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jade Burns ◽  
Keith Johnstone ◽  
Tanaka Chavanduka ◽  
Cornelius Jamison ◽  
Valery Pena ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Black Male ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Male Adolescents ◽  
Sexual Health Information ◽  
Social Media Platforms

BACKGROUND Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which have millions of users who interact and communicate every day, have been effective in promoting sexual health interventions and in disseminating reproductive health education. They have also been shown to be useful in health promotion and have been used to track several key metrics (eg, comments, posts) among users of all demographics. However, there is a lack of research on the impact and reach of these social media platforms as a community-based tool for disseminating sexual health information and for increasing engagement among Black adolescents and young adults, which is a targeted high-risk population. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the social media platforms and banner advertisements that affected engagement among Black male adolescents and young adults in participating in web-based health surveys. METHODS A web-based survey was conducted from March 2019 to July 2019 to assess sexual health and health behaviors in a convenience sample of Black male adolescents and young adults in the age range of 18-24 years (N=170). Social media metrics from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were monitored. This cross-sectional survey comprised several categories, including basic personal information, drug-related risk behaviors, health care, sexual reproductive health questions, attitudes, norms, and perceived control, mental health, violence-related risk behaviors, and social media preferences. RESULTS Social media advertisements on the Black Male Opinion survey reached approximately 146,412 individuals. Our primary finding of the web-based survey engagement was that referral (eg, group chat, indirect social media sharing) led to as the greatest proportion of recruitment, with Twitter and YouTube as the preferred sites to receive sexual health information. CONCLUSIONS Recognizing the variety of technologies being used among Black male young adults and adolescents can help the community, researchers, and health care providers understand the web-based engagement of this high-risk population. This information may also promote culturally sensitive, customized marketing on sexual health information for this population.

Young people’s comfort receiving sexual health information via social media and other sources

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 1003-1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan SC Lim ◽  
Alyce Vella ◽  
Rachel Sacks-Davis ◽  
Margaret E Hellard
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Sexual Health Information

How do users adopt health information from social media? The narrative paradigm perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-126
Author(s):  
Jia Li ◽  
Jie Tang ◽  
Xuan Liu ◽  
Ling Ma
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Narrative Paradigm ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Information Adoption

Introduction: A recent trend in health information seeking and sharing is the use of social media. Although there are several benefits to the use of social media for health communication, the quality of health information exchanged on social media is troubling due to its informal, unregulated mechanisms for information collection, sharing and promotion. Therefore, it is important to understand how users adopt health information from social media. Method: Considering the user-generated and storytelling nature of social media messages, this research employed the narrative paradigm perspective to explain the social media health information adoption phenomenon. Specifically, narrative coherence (NC) and narrative fidelity (NF) were hypothesised to have positive effects on the intention to adopt (IA). Additionally, socio-economic status (SES) was viewed as a proxy variable to cognitive capability and was hypothesised to moderate the effects of NC and NF. A scenario-based survey was conducted to test the proposed research model. Results: We obtained a total of 257 valid questionnaires. The results indicated that NF ( p < 0.001) had a positive effect on the IA social media health information. The NC ( p < 0.01) had no impact on the low SES users but a positive impact on the high SES users. Further, the effect of NF ( p < 0.01) on the IA was higher for high SES users than low SES users. Conclusions: NC and NF are two major driving forces in social media health information adoption, and the effect of both narrative paradigm variables depends on the SES users. Implications Results of this study show how the narrative paradigm, with a focus on the storytelling method of communication rather than logical scientific argument, can not only explain the uptake of health messages from social media, but also provide guidance as to how to create health messages on social media that more effectively target end users.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Sexual Health Behaviors of Black Male Adolescents and Young Adults Through Social Media Platforms: Web-Based Survey Study

10.2196/19219 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e19219
Author(s):  
Jade Burns ◽  
Keith Johnstone ◽  
Tanaka Chavanduka ◽  
Cornelius Jamison ◽  
Valery Pena ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Black Male ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Male Adolescents ◽  
Sexual Health Information ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Background Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which have millions of users who interact and communicate every day, have been effective in promoting sexual health interventions and in disseminating reproductive health education. They have also been shown to be useful in health promotion and have been used to track several key metrics (eg, comments, posts) among users of all demographics. However, there is a lack of research on the impact and reach of these social media platforms as a community-based tool for disseminating sexual health information and for increasing engagement among Black adolescents and young adults, which is a targeted high-risk population. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the social media platforms and banner advertisements that affected engagement among Black male adolescents and young adults in participating in web-based health surveys. Methods A web-based survey was conducted from March 2019 to July 2019 to assess sexual health and health behaviors in a convenience sample of Black male adolescents and young adults in the age range of 18-24 years (N=170). Social media metrics from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter were monitored. This cross-sectional survey comprised several categories, including basic personal information, drug-related risk behaviors, health care, sexual reproductive health questions, attitudes, norms, and perceived control, mental health, violence-related risk behaviors, and social media preferences. Results Social media advertisements on the Black Male Opinion survey reached approximately 146,412 individuals. Our primary finding of the web-based survey engagement was that referral (eg, group chat, indirect social media sharing) led to as the greatest proportion of recruitment, with Twitter and YouTube as the preferred sites to receive sexual health information. Conclusions Recognizing the variety of technologies being used among Black male young adults and adolescents can help the community, researchers, and health care providers understand the web-based engagement of this high-risk population. This information may also promote culturally sensitive, customized marketing on sexual health information for this population.

Sexual health information-seeking behavior on a social media site: predictors of best answer selection

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 880-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Jeong Yi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sexual Health Information ◽  
Affective Factors ◽  
Health Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Questions And Answers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify sexual health information needs and the cognitive and affective factors correlated with the best answer chosen by social Q&A users.Design/methodology/approachThe study collected questions and answers regarding sexual health information on a social Q&A site, and analyzed the questions and a paired sample composed of best and non-best answers (n=480).FindingsThe main information needs of consumers are human development, sexual behavior, and sexual health. Best answers are more likely to include both cognitive (higher level of readability, risky information, social norms) and affective factors (empathy, positive/negative feelings, and optimistic information) than non-best answers.Research limitations/implicationsThe study illuminates the roles of social Q&A as a unique platform to discuss sensitive health topics due to the fact that consumers use such social media sites as critical complementary health information sources.Practical implicationsIf health information providers develop information with the factors that the study suggests, not only will it be more adopted by consumers, but it will also ameliorate the quality concerns about online health information.Originality/valuePrevious studies only investigated the most prevalent factors, rather than the most effective ones, which have a greater influence on best answer selection. This study compares the best answers and the non-best answers to overcome the limitations of the previous studies. Above all, the study applied the persuasion concepts to address the cognitive and affective perspectives to the answer evaluations of social Q&A.

The “Be All and End All”? Young People, Online Sexual Health Information, Science and Skepticism

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110035
Author(s):  
Adrian Farrugia ◽  
Andrea Waling ◽  
Kiran Pienaar ◽  
Suzanne Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Sexual Practices ◽  
Sexual Health Information ◽  
Science Society ◽  
Online Sources

In this article, we investigate young people’s trust in online sexual health resources. Analyzing interviews with 37 young people in Australia using Irwin and Michael’s account of science–society relations and Warner’s conceptualization of “publics,” we explore the processes by which they assess the credibility of online sexual health information. We suggest that when seeking medical information, young people opt for traditionally authoritative online sources that purport to offer “facts.” By contrast, when seeking information about relationships or sexual practices, participants indicated a preference for websites presenting “experiences” rather than or as well as “facts.” Regardless of content, however, our participants approached online sexual health information skeptically and used various techniques to appraise its quality and trustworthiness. We argue that these young people are productively understood as a skeptical public of sexual health. We conclude by exploring the implications of our analysis for the provision of online sexual health information.

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