Queer as F**k: Reaching and Engaging Gay Men in Sexual Health Promotion through Social Networking Sites

Abstract

BackgroundA growing number of health promotion interventions are taking advantage of the popularity and interactivity of new social media platforms to foster and engage communities for health promotion. However, few health promotion interventions using social networking sites (SNS) have been rigorously evaluated. "Queer as F**k"(QAF) began as pilot project in 2010 to deliver sexual health promotion via short "webisodes" on SNS to gay men. Now in its fifth season, QAF is among the few published examples internationally to demonstrate the sexual health promotion potential of SNS.ObjectiveThe objective of this evaluation is to assess reach, interactivity, and engagement generated by QAF to inform future health interventions and evaluations using SNS.MethodsWe undertook a mixed method process evaluation using an uncontrolled longitudinal study design that compared multiple measurements over time to assess changes in reach and engagement. We adapted evaluation methods from the health promotion, information systems, and creative spheres. We incorporated online usage statistics, interviews informed by user diary-scrapbooks, and user focus groups to assess intervention reach and engagement.ResultsDuring Series 1-3 (April 2010 to April 2011), 32 webisodes were posted on the QAF Facebook and YouTube pages. These webisodes attracted over 30,000 views; ranging from 124-3092 views per individual episode. By April 2011, the QAF Facebook page had 2929 predominantly male fans. Interview and focus group participants supported the balance of education and entertainment. They endorsed the narrative "soap opera" format as an effective way to deliver sexual health messages in an engaging, informative, and accessible manner that encouraged online peer discussion of sexual health and promoted community engagement.ConclusionsQAF offers a successful example of exploiting the reach, interactivity, and engagement potential of SNS; findings from this process evaluation provide a model to inform the delivery and evaluation of future health promotion interventions on SNS.

“It would be weird to have that on Facebook”: young people's use of social media and the risk of sharing sexual health information

“…15,16 Previous studies have asked young people about their social media engagements, though often this research has focused on specific "at-risk" groups, such as adolescent parents. 17 Various sexual health interventions have engaged young people via SNS and found some success in doing so, [18][19][20] also noting the difficulties such as the time and resources required to do this well. 18 Research on utilising social media for promoting sexual health typically takes an instrumental approach, asking how public health can reach this population without necessarily consulting young users of SNS.…”

The use of social media among adolescents in Dar es Salaam and Mtwara, Tanzania

“…[6][7][8] These studies indicate that many young people still prefer traditional sources over the internet, including friends, family, or school. 6,7 The few studies published so far [9][10][11][12][13] have had mainly three foci: (1) analysis of social media use by "at-risk" groups such as adolescent parents, (2) approaches to targeting youth by sexual health intervention, and (3) impact assessments of online sexual and reproductive health messages on adolescents' knowledge, attitude and behaviour.…”

“…9,[11][12][13][14] While information about the use of social networking sites by youth in the developed world is growing, there are very few studies among African youth, in general or with a focus on sexual and reproductive health. [15][16][17] Halpern et al looked at the utility of a webbased reproductive health education project in two urban sites in Kenya and Brazil, 15 to see if there were differences between adolescents who participated in the project and those who did not.…”

Setting the Scene: Locations for Meeting Sex Partners Among Behaviorally Bisexual Men in Vientiane, Laos, and Opportunities for Health Promotion

“…This has been used in numerous international settings with applications such as education (Bowen, Horvath, & Williams, 2007;Gold et al, 2011;Hightow-Weidman et al, 2012;Pedrana et al, 2013), personalized information and counseling (Noar, Black, & Pierce, 2009), partner notification services (Bourne, Zablotska, Williamson, Calmette, & Guy, 2012;McFarlane, Kachur, Klausner, Roland, & Cohen, 2005), promotion of sexual health checks (Bourne et al, 2012;Friedman et al, 2014), outreach (McFarlane et al, 2005, and online testing (Klausner, Levine, & Kent, 2004). While most published studies and evaluations are based in the U.S., Australia, and Europe, there is increasing interest in internet-delivered interventions in Asia (Li et al, 2012), and a number of studies are emerging (Bao, Xiu, & Xiao, 2013;Nguyen thi, Le cong, & Van Tieu, 2013).…”