New social media for health promotion management: a statistical analysis

The literature from several areas of study reports social media Web sites plays an important role for society in the third millennium. Using the Internet as a tool for health is increasingly common: In particular, Facebook has played increasing role in health promotion management. The objective of the paper was to demonstrate, by a sample survey, how and how much Facebook promotes health by encouraging healthy lifestyles. The online questionnaire has been loaded on Facebook pages and groups that promote healthy lifestyle and well-being. Statistical data analysis, used in an integrated and complementary approach, has been multiple correspondence analysis, cluster analysis and cross-tabulations. The final sample consisted of 3.640 Facebook users. Social media Web sites are widely used by younger generation, but also by adult and senior population to find health information. Starting from the research results, it can be argued that Facebook users would like to have more “certified information” on health through social media Web sites. Starting from this information, governments could promote healthy lifestyles through Facebook, paying attention to certify the contents.