@Article{info:doi/10.2196/publichealth.8145,
author="Card, Kiffer George
and Lachowsky, Nathan
and Hawkins, Blake W
and Jollimore, Jody
and Baharuddin, Fahmy
and Hogg, Robert S",
title="Predictors of Facebook User Engagement With Health-Related Content for Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: Content Analysis",
journal="JMIR Public Health Surveill",
year="2018",
month="Apr",
day="06",
volume="4",
number="2",
pages="e38",
keywords="social media; health promotion; gay and bisexual men; user engagement",
abstract="Background: Social media is used by community-based organizations (CBOs) to promote the well-being of gay and bisexual men (GBM). However, few studies have quantified which factors facilitate the diffusion of health content tailored for sexual minorities. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify post characteristics that can be leveraged to optimize the health promotion efforts of CBOs on Facebook. Methods: The Facebook application programming interface was used to collect 5 years' of posts shared across 10 Facebook pages administered by Vancouver-based CBOs promoting GBM health. Network analysis assessed basic indicators of network structure. Content analyses were conducted using informatics-based approaches. Hierarchical negative binomial regression of post engagement data was used to identify meaningful covariates of engagement. Results: In total, 14,071 posts were shared and 21,537 users engaged with these posts. Most users (n=13,315) engaged only once. There was moderate correlation between the number of posts and the number of CBOs users engaged with (r=.53, P<.001). Higher user engagement was positively associated with positive sentiment, sharing multimedia, and posting about pre-exposure prophylaxis, stigma, and mental health. Engagement was negatively associated with asking questions, posting about dating, and sharing posts during or after work (versus before). Conclusions: Results highlight the existence of a core group of Facebook users who facilitate diffusion. Factors associated with greater user engagement present CBOs with a number of strategies for improving the diffusion of health content. ",
issn="2369-2960",
doi="10.2196/publichealth.8145",
url="http://publichealth.jmir.org/2018/2/e38/",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/publichealth.8145",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29625953"
}