Ramondt Steven, Kerkhof Peter, Merz Eva-Maria
Department of Donor Medicine Research, Sanquin Research Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Communication Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
J Med Internet Res. 2025 May 12;27:e64740. doi: 10.2196/64740.
Social media platforms have shown considerable potential in shaping behaviors and have become a central component of public health and organizational outreach efforts. Blood collection agencies increasingly rely on social media not only for donor recruitment and retention but also for promoting donation-related behaviors. Regular, day-to-day status updates form a significant part of the communication strategies implemented by blood banks.
Despite social media's promise as a tool for behavior change, evidence supporting the persuasive effects of routine day-to-day status updates remains limited-not only within the context of blood donation but also across broader health domains. To address this gap, we examine long-term attitudinal and behavioral outcomes to understand better the impact of an organization's social media efforts on health-related behaviors.
We conducted a randomized controlled field trial to investigate the effects of a blood bank's Facebook page on donation attitudes and behavior. All newly registered blood donors were invited to participate, and a total of 1891 participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. Participants were randomly assigned to either follow a blood bank's Facebook page or not. The study used a 2 (new Facebook followers vs non-Facebook followers) × 2 (premeasure vs postmeasure) mixed design, with an additional observational arm consisting of current Facebook followers (n=415). Outcomes were measured at 2 and 12 months following participation, incorporating both between- and within-participant comparisons.
After 1 year, no significant interaction effects (group × time) were found for any of the attitudinal variables, including attitudes toward blood donation, intention to donate, attitudes toward the blood bank, perceived warmth and competence, contemplation of donorship, or contemplation of the blood bank. The experimental group was 32% more likely to have made a first donation (odds ratio [OR] 1.32, 95% CI 1.01-1.73) compared with the control group. Additionally, the experimental group made 12% more whole blood donations (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.24) and 17% more total donations (IRR 1.17, 95% CI 1.06-1.28) after 1 year than the control. No significant effects were observed for the observational group compared with the control group in terms of either whole blood donations or the total number of donations. Women were significantly more likely to donate more frequently (IRR 1.97, 95% CI 1.80-2.16) and less likely to discontinue their donor career (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.37-0.72). Furthermore, older participants were slightly more likely to donate (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.02).
Our study provides initial evidence that regular engagement with a Facebook page can positively influence behavior in ways that offer meaningful benefits to organizations, including blood banks. While attitudinal effects appear limited, our findings demonstrate that social media efforts can nonetheless drive significant behavioral outcomes. Finally, we offer practical insights and actionable recommendations that blood banks and similar organizations can adopt to replicate these results and encourage prosocial behavior.
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社交媒体平台在塑造行为方面展现出了巨大潜力，已成为公共卫生和组织推广工作的核心组成部分。采血机构越来越依赖社交媒体，不仅用于招募和留住献血者，还用于促进与献血相关的行为。定期的日常状态更新是血库实施的沟通策略的重要组成部分。
尽管社交媒体有望成为改变行为的工具，但支持日常状态更新的说服效果的证据仍然有限——不仅在献血背景下，在更广泛的健康领域也是如此。为了填补这一空白，我们研究长期的态度和行为结果，以更好地理解组织的社交媒体努力对健康相关行为的影响。
我们进行了一项随机对照现场试验，以研究血库的Facebook页面对献血态度和行为的影响。邀请所有新注册的献血者参与，共有1891名参与者被随机分配到实验组或对照组。参与者被随机分配是否关注血库的Facebook页面。该研究采用2（新的Facebook关注者与非Facebook关注者）×2（测量前与测量后）混合设计，另有一个观察组，由当前的Facebook关注者组成（n = 415）。在参与后的2个月和12个月测量结果，纳入组间和组内比较。
1年后，对于任何态度变量（包括对献血的态度、献血意愿、对血库的态度、感知的温暖和能力、对献血者身份的考虑或对血库的考虑），均未发现显著的交互作用效应（组×时间）。与对照组相比，实验组首次献血的可能性高32%（优势比[OR]1.32，95%置信区间1.01 - 1.73）。此外，1年后，实验组的全血捐献量比对照组多12%（发病率比[IRR]1.12，95%置信区间1.01 - 1.24），总捐献量比对照组多17%（IRR 1.17，95%置信区间1.06 - 1.28）。与对照组相比，观察组在全血捐献量或捐献总数方面未观察到显著影响。女性更有可能更频繁地献血（IRR 1.97，95%置信区间1.80 - 2.16），且更不可能终止其献血生涯（OR 0.52，95%置信区间0.37 - 0.72）。此外，年龄较大的参与者献血的可能性略高（OR 1.01，95%置信区间1.00 - 1.02）。
我们的研究提供了初步证据，即定期参与Facebook页面可以以对包括血库在内的组织有意义的方式积极影响行为。虽然态度影响似乎有限，但我们的研究结果表明，社交媒体努力仍然可以推动显著的行为结果。最后，我们提供了实用的见解和可操作的建议，血库和类似组织可以采用这些建议来复制这些结果并鼓励亲社会行为。
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