Representation of Health Conditions on Facebook: Content Analysis and Evaluation of User Engagement

Abstract

This research represents the first attempts to comprehensively describe publicly available health content and user engagement with health conditions on Facebook pages. Public health interventions using Facebook will need to be designed to ensure relevant information is easy to find and with an understanding that stigma associated with some health conditions may limit the users' engagement with Facebook pages. This line of research merits further investigation as Facebook and other SNS continue to evolve over the coming years.