Using digital and social media for health promotion: A social marketing approach for addressing co‐morbid physical and mental health

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study examines consumer engagement with a social marketing digital media strategy designed to support the implementation of Equally Well—a program to improve the physical health of people living with mental illness.DesignA four‐stage strategic analysis and intervention mix were used as the theoretical framework to assess stakeholder needs and to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.SettingOnline and digital media.ParticipantsMental health consumers, carers, clinicians and service managers.InterventionsA digital media, social marketing intervention to support those seeking to improve the physical health of people living with mental illness. The strategy was developed using a co‐design methodology and provided links to self‐care resources, access to service providers, clinical tools for health professionals and links to existing successful rural programs.Main outcome measuresThe main outcome measures were the number of people from each category accessing the media, making connections and downloading resources.ResultsThe program has resulted in more than 24 500 website hits per annum, 3500 tweets and 14.5 million Twitter impressions with good bounce and download rates. The analysis suggested the materials were mostly used by clinicians and service managers using desktop computers.ConclusionsUsing a co‐design approach, the study demonstrated the potential of a social marketing digital media strategy as a health promotion methodology. The paper has provided a framework for implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of digital social media campaigns that can help consumers, carers, clinicians and service planners address the challenges of rural health service delivery and the tyranny of distance.

Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review

“…In the design, there were qualitative and quantitative studies [15,16]. There were three systematic reviews and one thematic analysis that explored the better or worse of using social media among adolescents [20][21][22][23]. In addition, eight were cross-sectional studies and only three were longitudinal studies [24][25][26][27][28][29].The meta-analyses included studies published beyond the last five years in this population.…”

“…The intimacy fun happens when social media promotes putting on a facade that highlights the fun and excitement but does not tell us much about where we are struggling in our daily lives at a deeper level [ 28 ]. Another study revealed that depression and time spent on Facebook by adolescents are positively correlated [ 22 ]. More importantly, symptoms of major depression have been found among the individuals who spent most of their time in online activities and performing image management on social networking sites [ 14 ].…”

Integrating Theory in Co-design: An Abductive Approach

“…To date, co-design has proved successful in many contexts (Domegan et al, 2019; Mehmet et al, 2020), and differences between user-generated ideas and expert-generated ideas have been observed (Dietrich et al, 2016; Hurley et al, 2018). Benefits of co-design have been observed for researchers, users, and society at large (Slattery et al, 2020).…”

Rethinking access for minority segments in rural health: An LGBTQI+ perspective

“…Online advice forums and digital media could also be leveraged to provide a community of knowledge and support. 29 Such access to information and resources in an anonymous way has been found to facilitate identity development and self-acceptance of LGBTQI+ youth. 30 The appropriate promotional channels will be required to publicise such services using local mainstream and LGBTQI+specific channels of communication.…”

“…Telehealth services, for instance, could be leveraged to provide LGBTQI+ individuals with access to gay‐friendly specific services, without having to physically visit a local facility, or interact with local professionals; helping to protect their identity within their local rural community. Online advice forums and digital media could also be leveraged to provide a community of knowledge and support 29 . Such access to information and resources in an anonymous way has been found to facilitate identity development and self‐acceptance of LGBTQI+ youth 30 .…”