Engagement in Diabetes Health Education Content on Facebook

Background and aim

Research suggests that social media could represent valuable channels for diabetes patient education1-4. This study analyzes the engagement with health education contents posted on the Norwegian Diabetes Association’s (NDA) Facebook page (34.000 followers).

Methods

All Facebook posts from NDA published between 01/01/2017 and 30/06/2019 were extracted, and classified according to its main contents’ type. This study was declared exempt by the Ethics Committee (REK Sør- Øst,Ref:2017/764C). The treatment of personal information was approved by the data-protection officer at the University Hospital North Norway (Ref:0720).

Results

A total of 417 Facebook posts were published during the study period. Health education contents (i.e., learn self-management, self-monitoring) were the most shared type of content (p<0,05). A remarkable significant low engagement around exercise promotion’ contents was found, being both the least liked, shared, and commented (p<0,05). The table shows the engagement around the different types of content.

Discussion

Social media users engage considerably in health education content posted on Facebook. Since physical activity is very relevant for diabetes, exercise promotion content posted on social media should be presented in different ways to be more engaging.