ArticlemHealth2019
Using social media to increase preventative behaviors against arboviral diseases: a pilot study among teens in the Dominican Republic.
Article in mHealth, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of social media on COVID-19 preventive behaviors worldwide, systematic review.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Social Media-Based Interventions for Health Behavior Change in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Communication Strategies for Tick-Borne Disease Prevention Among US Cattle Producers: Quasi-Experimental Study on Message Framing and Source Credibility.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Not here yet, but one bite away: Risk for vector-borne zoonotic diseases.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Review
- A review of strategies and levels of community engagement in strengths-based and needs-based health communication interventions.Frontiers in public health · 2024Review
- Article
- Determinants of public interest in emerging and re-emerging arboviral diseases in Europe: A spatio-temporal analysis of cross-sectional time series data.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2022Article
- COVID-19 information on social media and preventive behaviors: Managing the pandemic through personal responsibility.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2021Article
- Emergency Preparedness and Risk Communication Among African American Churches: Leveraging a Community-Based Participatory Research Partnership COVID-19 Initiative.Preventing chronic disease · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSocial media presents new opportunities for community-based interventions. However, studies demonstrating effectiveness and practicality in resource-poor areas of Latin America and the Caribbean are lacking. In these areas at high risk for vector-transmitted illnesses, disease prevention practices at the community level are necessary for sustainable improvement. This study evaluated social media as a peer-to-peer health communication tool to promote education and encourage preventative behaviors against arboviral diseases among youth in the Dominican Republic.
methodsIn 2016, 31 youth ages 14-18 years from three cities in the Dominican Republic were enrolled into either of two Facebook groups receiving a 3-month arbovirus prevention-focused intervention with weekly educational posts, or a control group. Arboviral prevention, knowledge, and practice were evaluated with pre-and post-surveys. The level of online engagement was analyzed through online metrics. Linear regression models were used to determine the association between metrics of online activity and pre- and post-survey score difference.
resultsKnowledge scores increased significantly in the intervention groups (51.1% increase) compared to the control group (1.2% increase, P<0.0001). The intervention groups also showed a significant increase in the frequency of preventative behaviors in all categories (primary bite prevention P=0.017, household vector control P=0.0024, community vector control P=0.0021). Increased online engagement parameters were associated with statistically significant increases in survey scores (P<0.0001) and preventative behaviors in all categories (P=0.0007-0.0011), even between intervention groups (P<0.0001).
conclusionsThis study provides evidence of the effectiveness of engagement in social media peer-to-peer education groups as an accessible and practical intervention to improve arboviral disease knowledge and prevention practices among youth in a low- and middle-income country. The different levels of online engagement that were observed between intervention groups strongly correlated to changes in participant knowledge and behavior. Possible explanations of the divergent online activity between study groups are discussed within a theoretical framework and should be taken into consideration in future studies.
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