Health Promotion via Social Media: An Exploratory Study About the Determinants of Social Media Use among Healthy People
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Abstract
Background: Communication is the central social process in healthcare delivery and health promotion since it is vital in establishing, collecting, and sharing health information. It is therefore, the most important resource in guiding strategic health behaviors, treatments, and decisions (Kreps, 1988). The communication landscape in health has completely changed as individuals’ desire to connect with their peers coupled with the necessary tools, have fueled online discussions about health (Fox, 2011). E-patients have already gained value from these discussions/ health content online, but individuals do not have to be patients before utilizing social media for health. The leading cause of death worldwide is from noncommunicable or chronic diseases, which are largely preventable by eliminating risk factors, or by addressing the healthy through health promotion. Therefore, health promotion is an increasingly important area of healthcare. Currently, there are few studies about the use of mainstream social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter for health topics. However, these sites can be used for health promotion to reach the general public and especially the younger generations.
Objective: The present study aims to examine which factors influence healthy people’s interactions with mainstream social media for health content in order to gain deeper insight about social media as a new opportunity of interaction for health promotion.
Methods: Data were gathered in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland (N = 343) through an email questionnaire, which evaluated how people interact with mainstream social media for health content by inquiring whether they follow health groups on Twitter or comment on a friend’s health status on Facebook, for example. Additionally, scales about people’s subjective health knowledge, health self-efficacy, health information-seeking behavior, and trust in social media sites as well as in health organizations, the pharmaceutical industry and governmental agencies were also included. Socio-demographic characteristics like gender, age, and occupation were recorded.
Results: Each scale was reliable (Cronbach's alpha > .6). Results of regression analyses demonstrated that health information-seeking behavior and trust in mainstream social media sites significantly influenced people’s interaction with health content on these sites. The model explains 33% of the variance. Furthermore, individual analysis of questions of health information-seeking behavior showed that unintentionally found health information significantly predicts social media use for health content.
Conclusions: Since health information-seeking behavior and trust in health information on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are good predictors of social media use for health content, health promotion entities can influence the likelihood with which individuals interact with social media for health content by building trust and also by enabling users’ unintentional finding of health information. Then, users may become involved in information exchange, gathering information not only for themselves, but also adding content for others, all of which create a unique experience. In turn, this could lead to the learning of healthy habits. However, future research is needed to investigate whether social media influences healthy people’s engagement in preventative health behaviors and also if this differs among the various language regions of Switzerland and even internationally.
Fox, S. (2011). The Social Life of Health Information, 2011. Pew Internet. Retrieved from
http://pewinternet.org/~/media/files/reports/2011/pip_social_life_of_health_info.pdf
Kreps, G.L. (1988). The pervasive role of information in health care: Implications for health communication policy. In J. Anderson (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 11, (238-276). Newbury Park, CA, Sage.
Objective: The present study aims to examine which factors influence healthy people’s interactions with mainstream social media for health content in order to gain deeper insight about social media as a new opportunity of interaction for health promotion.
Methods: Data were gathered in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland (N = 343) through an email questionnaire, which evaluated how people interact with mainstream social media for health content by inquiring whether they follow health groups on Twitter or comment on a friend’s health status on Facebook, for example. Additionally, scales about people’s subjective health knowledge, health self-efficacy, health information-seeking behavior, and trust in social media sites as well as in health organizations, the pharmaceutical industry and governmental agencies were also included. Socio-demographic characteristics like gender, age, and occupation were recorded.
Results: Each scale was reliable (Cronbach's alpha > .6). Results of regression analyses demonstrated that health information-seeking behavior and trust in mainstream social media sites significantly influenced people’s interaction with health content on these sites. The model explains 33% of the variance. Furthermore, individual analysis of questions of health information-seeking behavior showed that unintentionally found health information significantly predicts social media use for health content.
Conclusions: Since health information-seeking behavior and trust in health information on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are good predictors of social media use for health content, health promotion entities can influence the likelihood with which individuals interact with social media for health content by building trust and also by enabling users’ unintentional finding of health information. Then, users may become involved in information exchange, gathering information not only for themselves, but also adding content for others, all of which create a unique experience. In turn, this could lead to the learning of healthy habits. However, future research is needed to investigate whether social media influences healthy people’s engagement in preventative health behaviors and also if this differs among the various language regions of Switzerland and even internationally.
Fox, S. (2011). The Social Life of Health Information, 2011. Pew Internet. Retrieved from
http://pewinternet.org/~/media/files/reports/2011/pip_social_life_of_health_info.pdf
Kreps, G.L. (1988). The pervasive role of information in health care: Implications for health communication policy. In J. Anderson (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 11, (238-276). Newbury Park, CA, Sage.
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