Facebook recruitment of Chinese-speaking participants for hypertension education

Abstract

Effective dissemination of health information to a desired population can be a challenging and expensive process, particularly to Chinese-Americans. Print and radio advertisements are limited by geographic, language, cost, and demographic barriers. The expense and efforts necessary to overcome these challenges can delay the distribution of knowledge and make it more expensive than necessary. The advent of web-based advertisements through media platforms such as Facebook offers a new method of reaching target audiences who can be both cost-effective and specific. A Facebook advertisement was displayed for 48 hours and consisted of a 26-character Chinese text body. The advertisement linked to an external informational video on hypertension prevention. Demographic information including age and gender were recorded. Descriptive statistics were used to compare reach and number of ad clicks between age groups. The 48-hour campaign reached a total of 508 people. Of those reached, 289 participants (56.9%) were between the ages of 55–64 years, and 170 participants (33.5%) were 65 years or older. The campaign also generated 52 link clicks. The results show that Facebook is a promising method of engaging Chinese-Americans. It is particularly effective in reaching the older female population and is a cost-effective alternative to print-based advertisements.