Brigada Digital uses social media to reach Latino adults

The CEAL Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia Regional Team looked at the impact of community-based digital messaging to address barriers to reliable health information among Latino adults. Researchers fielded two waves of the CEAL Common Survey 2.0 translated into Spanish to Brigada Digital audience members living in the District of Columbia or two counties in Maryland. Included in the surveys was a series of questions about social media use and sources of health information.

Between the two waves of surveys, Spanish content tailored to the Latino community was disseminated across multiple social media platforms. Content included regular news and scientific updates along with current, accurate health care information. Posts were designed for different literacy and education levels and used illustrations and audio narration to explain scientific concepts. Trained community health workers also shared the messages with their networks and Latino-oriented social media groups.

“Study results suggest the importance of social media as a tool for the dissemination of reliable health information, which may be particularly useful in reaching communities that commonly experience barriers to accessing health-related information and services.” BMC Digital Health, October 2024

Researchers found that survey respondents’ perceived difficulty in judging the reliability of health information in the media decreased between the two waves, but judging the reliability of information continued to be challenging. Similar to other studies, health care providers were seen as the most trusted source of health information. The authors of this study suggest that future research should look at building community capacity to conduct digital outreach that improves health literacy.

For more synopses of CEAL research, please subscribe to the CEAL Research Roundup.