scholarly journals Peer-to-peer sharing of sexual health social media messages in a school-based intervention: Opportunities and Challenges Identified in the STASH Feasibility Trial (Preprint)

10.2196/20898 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maija-Kaisa Hirvonen ◽  
Carrie Purcell ◽  
Lawrie Elliott ◽  
Julia V Bailey ◽  
Sharon Anne Simpson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Feasibility Trial ◽  
School Based Intervention ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
School Based ◽  
Health Social Media

scholarly journals Peer-to-peer sharing of sexual health social media messages in a school-based intervention: Opportunities and Challenges Identified in the STASH Feasibility Trial (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maija-Kaisa Hirvonen ◽  
Carrie Purcell ◽  
Lawrie Elliott ◽  
Julia V Bailey ◽  
Sharon Anne Simpson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Feasibility Trial ◽  
Friendship Networks ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
School Based Intervention ◽  
School Based

BACKGROUND There is strong interest in the use of social media to spread positive sexual health messages through young people’s social networks. However, research suggests this potential may be limited by a reluctance to be visibly associated with sexual health content online, and by lack of trust in the veracity of peer sources. OBJECTIVE To investigate opportunities and challenges of using social media to facilitate peer-to-peer sharing of sexual health messages within the context of a secondary school-based and peer-led sexual health intervention (STASH; Sexually Transmitted infections And Sexual Health). METHODS Following training, and as part of their role, student-nominated peer supporters (aged 14-16) invited school friends to trainer-monitored, private Facebook groups. Peer supporters posted curated educational sex and relationships content within these groups. Data come from a feasibility study of the STASH intervention in 6 UK schools. To understand student experiences of the social media component we used data from: 11 semi-structured paired and group interviews with peer supporters and their friends (collectively, ‘students’; n=42; aged 14-16); a web-based post-intervention questionnaire to peer supporters (n=88); and baseline and follow-up questionnaires to students in the intervention year group (n=680 and 603 respectively). We carried out thematic analysis of qualitative data and descriptive analysis of quantitative data. RESULTS Message-sharing by peer supporters was hindered by variable engagement with Facebook. The trainer-monitored and private Facebook groups were acceptable to student members (peer supporters and their friends), and reassuring to peer supporters, but led to engagement that ran parallel to – rather than embedded in –their routine social media use. The offline context of a school-based intervention helped legitimate and augment the Facebook posts; but even where friends were receptive to STASH messages, they did not necessarily engage visibly. Preferences for content design varied, but humor, color and text brevity were important. Preferences for online versus offline message-sharing varied. CONCLUSIONS Invitation-only social media groups formed around peer supporters’ existing friendship networks hold potential for diffusing messages in peer-based sexual health interventions. Ideally, interactive opportunities should not be limited to single social media platforms and should run alongside offline conversations. There are tensions between offering young people autonomy to engage flexibly and authentically, and the need for adult-oversight of activities for information accuracy and safeguarding. CLINICALTRIAL Isrctn97369178

scholarly journals Social Network Research contribution to evaluating process in a feasibility study of a peer-led and school-based sexual health intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Broccatelli ◽  
Peng Wang ◽  
Lisa McDaid ◽  
Mark McCann ◽  
Sharon Anne Simpson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Complex Interventions ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Feasibility Trial ◽  
Friendship Networks ◽  
Intervention Delivery ◽  
School Based ◽  
Network Research

AbstractThere is growing interest in social network-based programmes to improve health, but rigorous methods using Social Network research to evaluate the process of these interventions is less well developed. Using data from the “STis And Sexual Health” (STASH) feasibility trial of a school-based, peer-led intervention on sexual health prevention, we illustrate how network data analysis results can address key components of process evaluations for complex interventions—implementation, mechanisms of impacts, and context. STASH trained students as Peer Supporters (PS) to diffuse sexual health messages though face-to-face interactions and online Facebook (FB) groups. We applied a Multilevel Exponential Random Graph modelling approach to analyse the interdependence between offline friendship relationships and online FB ties and how these different relationships align. Our results suggest that the creation of online FB communities mirrored offline adolescent groups, demonstrating fidelity of intervention delivery. Data on informal friendship networks related to student’s individual characteristics (i.e., demographics, sexual health knowledge and adherence to norms, which were included for STASH), contributed to an understanding of the social relational ‘building’ mechanisms that sustain tie-formation. This knowledge could assist the selection of opinion leaders, improving identification of influential peers situated in optimal network positions. This work provides a novel contribution to understanding how to integrate network research with the process evaluation of a network intervention.

Perceptions of Alcohol Use in a High School-Based Intervention

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa K. Monreal ◽  
Maryam Kia-Keating ◽  
Marya Schulte ◽  
Sandra A. Brown
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
School Based Intervention ◽  
School Based

Social media and peer-to-peer support for individuals with health care needs and their caregivers: a scoping review (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Kelly ◽  
Shelley Doucet ◽  
Alison Luke ◽  
Rima Azar ◽  
William Montelpare
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Health Care Needs ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
The Many

BACKGROUND Individuals with health care needs and their caregivers require substantial informational and emotional support. Providing this support is a major challenge for care providers, who are often not able to adequately address barriers and may not be aware of available services and programs. Online P2P support offers an accessible and inexpensive source of support; however, the breadth of these supports on social media has not been previously documented. OBJECTIVE This study was a scoping review of research examining the use of peer-to-peer support on social media by individuals with health care needs and their caregivers. METHODS This review used the PRISMA-SR method to search for articles from 1997 to 2019. RESULTS A total of 94 articles were included. Patients and caregivers use many social media websites for P2P interaction, including: Facebook (n = 19), Twitter (n = 7), and YouTube (n = 6). Providing and receiving informational and emotional support were important uses of social media for P2P support; however, the specific needs and experiences of patients and caregivers appeared to change as knowledge regarding the condition(s) improved. Despite the many benefits associated with participating in online P2P groups, concerns related to ethics, privacy, and the potential to spread misinformation are outlined as risks associated with its use. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed that patients and caregivers engage in P2P support on social media to receive informational and emotional support from peers, despite known risks and limitations. Social networking websites were revealed to be particularly suited for P2P support communication.

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