Strategies to Increase Latino Immigrant Youth Engagement in Health Promotion Using Social Media: Mixed-Methods Study

"Generating participant engagement in social media applications for health promotion and disease prevention efforts is vital for their effectiveness and increases the likelihood of effecting sustainable behavior change. However, there is limited evidence regarding effective strategies for engaging Latino immigrant youth using social media."

This article explores Adelante, a "branded primary prevention program" addressing risk factors for substance use, sexual risk, and interpersonal violence among Latino immigrant adolescents aged 12 to 19 years. Implemented in suburban Washington, DC, United States, this youth engagement effort used social media attempts to engage Latino immigrant adolescents in a 4-year prevention programme via Facebook.

"The objectives of this study were to (1) characterize Adelante participant Facebook reach and engagement and (2) identify post content and features that resulted in greater user engagement. The Adelante intervention consisted of in-person youth and parent programming, case management for high-risk youth and their families, and a social marketing campaign." The social media component sought to engage youth in creating content, disseminating prevention messages, engaging a specific youth audience, and "increasing peer-to-peer and peer-to-program connectivity." It built upon analytical data identifying content and features that showed higher engagement of Adelante's Facebook fans.

From September 2015 to September 2016, the social marketing campaign built upon data collected between October 2013, from the initial publication of the Facebook location, to September 2016. The study was a "2-phased mixed-methods analysis plan that enabled [researchers] to combine quantitative Facebook analytics and assessment of post features with qualitative data from Facebook posts (text, media, and graphics)."

Results showed a page reached a total of 743 fans with 871 posts. "The total reach was 247,212 users, including an organic reach of 163,698 unique users (representing 850 posts) and a paid reach of 83,514 unique users...." Engaging posts were those that provided updates about programme activities, especially during or immediately after activities and especially those with photos of soccer teams and tournaments, career workshops and internships, and volunteering or community cleanup opportunities, along with personal stories and achievements.

The study concluded that "social media is a promising strategy for engaging young Latino immigrants in health promotion efforts." Outreach programmers can gain an understanding of appealing posts and features in order to offer multiple opportunities for addressing health disparities and barriers to engagement of a segment of youth. "Interventions should consider approaches that can increase participant comfort with more active engagement, such as augmenting privacy through closed social media groups for certain activities where active engagement is sought." Posts and messages should be created in collaboration with youth so as to resonate with the audience and be compatible with youth social media engagement habits. Feeling part of a personal peer network through seeing posts of activities involving youth, peers, and friends provided a mechanism connecting the online and the face-to-face dissemination of health promotion and risk prevention.