The Use of Social Media by State Tobacco Control Programs to Promote Smoking Cessation: A Cross-Sectional Study

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Abstract

Background

The promotion of evidence-based cessation services through social media sites may increase their utilization by smokers. Data on social media adoption and use within tobacco control programs (TCPs) have not been reported.

Objective

This study examines TCP use of and activity levels on social media, the reach of TCP sites, and the level of engagement with the content on sites.

Methods

A cross-sectional descriptive study of state TCP social media sites and their content was conducted.

Results

In 2013, 60% (30/50) of TCPs were using social media. Approximately one-quarter (26%, 13/50) of all TCPs used 3 or more social media sites, 24% (12/50) used 2, and 10% (5/50) used 1 site. Overall, 60% (30/50) had a Facebook page, 36% (18/50) had a Twitter page, and 40% (20/50) had a YouTube channel. The reach of social media was different across each site and varied widely by state. Among TCPs with a Facebook page, 73% (22/30) had less than 100 likes per 100,000 adults in the state, and 13% (4/30) had more than 400 likes per 100,000 adults. Among TCPs with a Twitter page, 61% (11/18) had less than 10 followers per 100,000 adults, and just 1 state had more than 100 followers per 100,000 adults. Seven states (23%, 7/30) updated their social media sites daily. The most frequent social media activities focused on the dissemination of information rather than interaction with site users. Social media resources from a national cessation media campaign were promoted infrequently.

Conclusions

The current reach of state TCP social media sites is low and most TCPs are not promoting existing cessation services or capitalizing on social media’s interactive potential. TCPs should create an online environment that increases participation and 2-way communication with smokers to promote free cessation services.

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Most cited references 30

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The spread of alcohol consumption behavior in a large social network.

J Rosenquist (2010)

Alcohol consumption has important health-related consequences and numerous biological and social determinants. To explore quantitatively whether alcohol consumption behavior spreads from person to person in a large social network of friends, coworkers, siblings, spouses, and neighbors, followed for 32 years. Longitudinal network cohort study. The Framingham Heart Study. 12 067 persons assessed at several time points between 1971 and 2003. Self-reported alcohol consumption (number of drinks per week on average over the past year and number of days drinking within the past week) and social network ties, measured at each time point. Clusters of drinkers and abstainers were present in the network at all time points, and the clusters extended to 3 degrees of separation. These clusters were not only due to selective formation of social ties among drinkers but also seem to reflect interpersonal influence. Changes in the alcohol consumption behavior of a person's social network had a statistically significant effect on that person's subsequent alcohol consumption behavior. The behaviors of immediate neighbors and coworkers were not significantly associated with a person's drinking behavior, but the behavior of relatives and friends was. A nonclinical measure of alcohol consumption was used. Also, it is unclear whether the effects on long-term health are positive or negative, because alcohol has been shown to be both harmful and protective. Finally, not all network ties were observed. Network phenomena seem to influence alcohol consumption behavior. This has implications for clinical and public health interventions and further supports group-level interventions to reduce problematic drinking.

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Quitting smoking among adults--United States, 2001-2010.

(2011)

Quitting smoking is beneficial to health at any age, and cigarette smokers who quit before age 35 years have mortality rates similar to those who never smoked. From 1965 to 2010, the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults in the United States decreased from 42.4% to 19.3%, in part because of an increase in the number who quit smoking. Since 2002, the number of former U.S. smokers has exceeded the number of current smokers. Mass media campaigns, increases in the prices of tobacco products, and smoke-free policies have been shown to increase smoking cessation. In addition, brief cessation advice by health-care providers; individual, group, and telephone counseling; and cessation medications are effective cessation treatments. To determine the prevalence of 1) current interest in quitting smoking, 2) successful recent smoking cessation, 3) recent use of cessation treatments, and 4) trends in quit attempts over a 10-year period, CDC analyzed data from the 2001--2010 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS). This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which found that, in 2010, 68.8% of adult smokers wanted to stop smoking, 52.4% had made a quit attempt in the past year, 6.2% had recently quit, 48.3% had been advised by a health professional to quit, and 31.7% had used counseling and/or medications when they tried to quit. The prevalence of quit attempts increased during 2001--2010 among smokers aged 25--64 years, but not among other age groups. Health-care providers should identify smokers and offer them brief cessation advice at each visit; counseling and medication should be offered to patients willing to make a quit attempt.

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Adoption and use of social media among public health departments

Rosemary Thackeray, Brad Neiger, Amanda Smith … (2012)

Background Effective communication is a critical function within any public health system. Social media has enhanced communication between individuals and organizations and has the potential to augment public health communication. However, there is a lack of reported data on social media adoption within public health settings. The purposes of this study were to assess: 1) the extent to which state public health departments (SHDs) are using social media; 2) which social media applications are used most often; and 3) how often social media is used interactively to engage audiences. Methods This was a non-experimental, cross sectional study of SHD social media sites. Screen capture software Snag-It® was used to obtain screenshots of SHD social media sites across five applications. These sites were coded for social media presence, interactivity, reach, and topic. Results Sixty percent of SHDs reported using at least one social media application. Of these, 86.7% had a Twitter account, 56% a Facebook account, and 43% a YouTube channel. There was a statistically significant difference between average population density and use of social media (p = .01). On average, SHDs made one post per day on social media sites, and this was primarily to distribute information; there was very little interaction with audiences. SHDs have few followers or friends on their social media sites. The most common topics for posts and tweets related to staying healthy and diseases and conditions. Limitations include the absence of a standard by which social media metrics measure presence, reach, or interactivity; SHDs were only included if they had an institutionally maintained account; and the study was cross sectional. Conclusions Social media use by public health agencies is in the early adoption stage. However, the reach of social media is limited. SHDs are using social media as a channel to distribute information rather than capitalizing on the interactivity available to create conversations and engage with the audience. If public health agencies are to effectively use social media then they must develop a strategic communication plan that incorporates best practices for expanding reach and fostering interactivity and engagement.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Jennifer C Duke:

RTI InternationalPublic Health Policy Research3040 E. Cornwallis RoadPO Box 12194Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709United States1 919 485 26691 919 541 6683jduke@rti.org

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4643-2429

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Med Internet Res

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J. Med. Internet Res

Journal ID (publisher-id): JMIR

Title: Journal of Medical Internet Research

Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc. (Toronto, Canada )

ISSN (Print): 1439-4456

ISSN (Electronic): 1438-8871

Publication date Collection: July 2014

Publication date (Electronic): 10 July 2014

Volume: 16

Issue: 7

Electronic Location Identifier: e169

Affiliations

[1] ¹RTI International Public Health Policy Research Research Triangle Park, NCUnited States

Author notes

Corresponding Author: Jennifer C Duke jduke@ 123456rti.org

Author information

Jennifer C Duke http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4643-2429

Heather Hansen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4950-6881

Annice E Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6585-5876

Laurel Curry http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1391-4859

Jane Allen http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3825-4925

Article

Publisher ID: v16i7e169

DOI: 10.2196/jmir.3430

PMC ID: 4115651

PubMed ID: 25014311

SO-VID: ec973891-df76-4729-bf50-f6755b73da1a

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

History

Date received : 26 March 2014

Date revision requested : 22 April 2014

Date revision received : 21 May 2014

Date accepted : 12 June 2014

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