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Social Media Marketing of Non-Evidence-Based Women's Health Interventions: #Protocol for a Content Analysis Using Participatory #Research Methods
Background: The promotion of non-evidence-based health interventions to women on social media is a growing problem. Objective: This #Study aims to explore the use of social media to disseminate and promote health interventions that lack robust evidence and are of current interest and popularity. Methods: A content analysis of posts on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook about 5 health interventions targeted at women will be conducted using participatory #Research methods with consumers. English-language posts that discuss boric acid suppositories, fertility testing, perimenopause and menopause testing, supplements and hormone treatments for menopause, and menopause hormone therapy for disease prevention will be included. Using keyword searches related to each health intervention, consumers will screen the top posts until 100 eligible posts on 2 different social media platforms are identified (1000 posts total across the 5 health interventions). Data from the post’s caption, on-screen text, and audio and/or video will be included in the analysis. The analysis of these posts will take both a deductive approach using a prespecified framework and an inductive approach, generating key themes from the post content. Results: Data on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have been searched and screened. Development of the coding framework and analysis is now underway. The findings will be disseminated via publications in peer-reviewed international medical journals and presentations at national and international conferences in 2025 and 2026. Conclusions: This novel #Study will provide important insights into how information on various women’s health interventions and products, which currently lack robust evidence of benefit, are being disseminated and promoted on social media to women. Understanding this is essential for developing strategies to mitigate potential harm and plan solutions, thus protecting women from the low-value interventions marketed to them, becoming patients unnecessarily, and taking finite resources away from the health care system.
