Using Facebook to communicate mammography messages to rural audiences.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this scholarly project was to answer the following question: What is the highest level of engagement achieved with a mammography campaign on Facebook?

DESIGN AND SAMPLE: An Idaho public health department implemented a tailored message mammography campaign on Facebook during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Target sample for the Facebook campaign were women and men over the age of 40 in rural Idaho.

MEASURES: Data collected from Facebook were used to measure and stratify engagement into a hierarchy of six levels, with intent to get a mammogram representing the highest level of engagement. A survey measuring women's intent to a get a mammogram was distributed via an online link.

RESULTS: The posts reached 48,503 Facebook users-11,147 of the total reach were unique users. Intent to get a mammogram, the highest level of engagement, was stated both in Facebook comments and on the online survey. Forty-nine women completed the survey, and 82% of women expressed intent to get a mammogram in the next year.

CONCLUSION: This project conducted as a program evaluation demonstrates how public health nurses can develop, implement, and evaluate Facebook mammography campaigns in the future.