Oh Baby! A Content Analysis of Contraception Pins on Pinterest

Abstract

Background: Social media platforms have become a popular source for health information despite concerns about the quality of content shared. We examined how oral contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices are framed on the platform Pinterest using the Health Belief Model (HBM), as well as how fertility awareness methods are portrayed as an alternative to hormonal contraception. Methods: We collected pins in February 2021 using searches for birth control, oral contraceptives, and intrauterine devices. After excluding paid ads and pins not relevant to contraceptive use, we conducted a content analysis of 404 pins using a coding framework grounded in the HBM. We carried out descriptive statistics for all variables in the final sample. Results: Following coding, we found that 54.7% of pins mentioned oral contraceptive pills, 41.58% mentioned intrauterine devices, and 11.63% mentioned fertility awareness methods. Fertility awareness pins had the highest percentage of benefits conveyed (70.21%), followed by intrauterine devices (44.05%), then oral contraceptive pills (38.91%). Pill pins had the highest percentage of barriers conveyed (52.94%) and fertility awareness had the least (25.53%). Side effects were the most mentioned barrier among pill (37.10%) and intrauterine device pins (23.21%). Very few pins were made by (2.48%) or originated with medical institutions (5.45%). Conclusions: Oral contraceptive pills are often negatively framed on Pinterest, whereas intrauterine devices and fertility awareness methods are more positively framed. This suggests a need for clear communication from clinicians regarding all contraceptive options and their relative merits and risks.

Mental health messages on TikTok: Analysing the use of emotional appeals in health-related #EduTok videos

“…When users frequently search for, view, or interact with specific health-related content, the platform’s algorithms may learn to prioritise similar content, effectively creating a feedback loop that can amplify the topic’s presence. The volume of unique user-generated posts on a health topic is another indicator of how interested an audience is in a subject or organisation (Kohler et al, 2023; Neiger et al, 2013). Different metrics are associated with different levels of engagement across different social media platforms (Cho et al, 2014; Neiger et al, 2013).…”