How to best convey the messages around the prevention of cervical cancer ? Researchers at the University of California at Davis (United States) have looked into the question. According to their conclusions, which will be published in the journal Preventive Medicine in September, the campaigns launched on social networks would have more impact than the testimonials of patients.
Raise awareness and disseminate
Scientists on Twitter searched nearly 100,000 posts mentioning the keywords “HPV vaccination“,”Pap test“,”Gardasil“, to see the impact. From this data, they identified the 3,000 most shared tweets. Among them, 462 concerned the prevention of cervical cancer. Finally, the researchers observed whether they were from individuals or organizations, and whether they were informing about the disease or related to a personal story, they eventually found that network users shared much more informative content than personal experience tweets.
Moreover, official informants were cited much more, regardless of the publication, than individuals. According to Jingwen Zhang, assistant professor of communication at the American University, these results show that hospitals or public health organizations could use these platforms to promote preventive care. Social networks “are an effective tool for raising awareness and disseminating information, she declares in a press release. If they make their messages simple and clear, people will be more likely to share them. “
Vaccinate and screen
The researchers recall that in the United States, 83% of women are subject to preventive screening. Only 43% of girls aged 13-17 receive the recommended number of papillomavirus vaccines. According to them, the majority of women get information about prevention through a caregiver-patient relationship. “But many women do not have a general practitioner or a regular source of health care”, they write. Public health campaigns (posters, website, advertising) would also have limited results. Yet the earlier cancer is detected and treated, the lower its incidence.
Social networks, used by 88% of young adults and 78% of adults, could help spread these messages, says Jingwen Zhang. “The key strategy would be to strengthen the credibility of accounts and develop messages that directly convey new information and factual resources.”, she concludes.
Read also :
- What you need to know about the papillomavirus (HPV)
- Cervical cancer: we can do even better!
- Cervical cancer: artificial intelligence better than a smear?
