Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31066708›Full record

ArticleJMIR public health and surveillance2019

A Software Tool Aimed at Automating the Generation, Distribution, and Assessment of Social Media Messages for Health Promotion and Education Research.

Katja Reuter, Alicia MacLennan, NamQuyen Le, Jennifer B Unger, Elsi M Kaiser, Praveen Angyan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Katja ReuterDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Institute for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1559-9058
Alicia MacLennanSouthern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-1546
NamQuyen LeSouthern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5054-5362
Jennifer B UngerDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Institute for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9064-6603
Elsi M KaiserLinguistics Department, Psycholinguistics Lab, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3594-4127
Praveen Angyan *Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7022-7049

Funding

Southern California Clinical and Translational Science InstituteUL1TR001855 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Thomas A Buchanan, Michele D. Kipke · 2016 to 2026
$81.3M
Southern California Clinical and Translational Science InstituteUL1TR000130 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI BUCHANAN, THOMAS A · 2012 to 2015
$36.0M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000130NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001855
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSocial media offers promise for communicating the risks and health effects of harmful products and behaviors to larger and hard-to-reach segments of the population. Nearly 70% of US adults use some social media. However, rigorous research across different social media is vital to establish successful evidence-based health communication strategies that meet the requirements of the evolving digital landscape and the needs of diverse populations.

objectiveThe aim of this study was to expand and test a software tool (Trial Promoter) to support health promotion and education research by automating aspects of the generation, distribution, and assessment of large numbers of social media health messages and user comments.

methodsThe tool supports 6 functions (1) data import, (2) message generation deploying randomization techniques, (3) message distribution, (4) import and analysis of message comments, (5) collection and display of message performance data, and (6) reporting based on a predetermined data dictionary. The tool was built using 3 open-source software products: PostgreSQL, Ruby on Rails, and Semantic UI. To test the tool's utility and reliability, we developed parameterized message templates (N=102) based upon 2 government-sponsored health education campaigns, extracted images from these campaigns and a free stock photo platform (N=315), and topic-related hashtags (N=4) from Twitter. We conducted a functional correctness analysis of the generated social media messages to assess the algorithm's ability to produce the expected output for each input. We defined 100% correctness as use of the message template text and substitution of 3 message parameters (ie, image, hashtag, and destination URL) without any error. The percent correct was calculated to determine the probability with which the tool generates accurate messages.

resultsThe tool generated, distributed, and assessed 1275 social media health messages over 85 days (April 19 to July 12, 2017). It correctly used the message template text and substituted the message parameters 100% (1275/1275) of the time as verified by human reviewers and a custom algorithm using text search and attribute-matching techniques.

conclusionsA software tool can effectively support the generation, distribution, and assessment of hundreds of health promotion messages and user comments across different social media with the highest degree of functional correctness and minimal human interaction. The tool has the potential to support social media-enabled health promotion research and practice: first, by enabling the assessment of large numbers of messages to develop evidence-based health communication, and second, by providing public health organizations with a tool to increase their output of health education messages and manage user comments. We call on readers to use and develop the tool and to contribute to evidence-based communication methods in the digital age.

Indexed as

algorithmautomationdigitalFacebookhealth communicationhealth promotionInstagraminternetonlinesmokingsocial mediasocial networktobaccoTwitter

Identifiers

PMID31066708
PMCPMC6528439

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.