IPROC iproc Iproceedings 2369-6893 JMIR Publications Toronto, Canada v9i1e40047 10.2196/40047 Abstract Abstract Black Girls Run Too: A Content Analysis of the Black Girls Run National Facebook Group Leung Tiffany Kalinowski Jolaade 1
The University of Connecticut 1 University Place Stamford, CT, 06901 United States jolaade.kalinowski@uconn.edu
Idiong Christie 2 Blackman-Carr Loneke 3 Cooksey-Stowers Kristen 4 Davis Sharde 5 Pan Cindy 4 Chhabra Alisha 4 Eaton Lisa 6 Gans Kim 6 Pagoto Sherry 4 The University of Connecticut Stamford, CT United States The University of Connecticut Storrs, CT United States Department of Nutritional Sciences The University of Connecticut Storrs, CT United States Department of Allied Health Sciences The University of Connecticut Storrs, CT United States Department of Communication The University of Connecticut Storrs, CT United States Department of Human Development and Family Sciences The University of Connecticut Storrs, CT United States Corresponding Author: Jolaade Kalinowski jolaade.kalinowski@uconn.edu 2023 27 1 2023 9 e40047 2 6 2022 22 12 2022 ©Jolaade Kalinowski, Christie Idiong, Loneke Blackman-Carr, Kristen Cooksey-Stowers, Sharde Davis, Cindy Pan, Alisha Chhabra, Lisa Eaton, Kim Gans, Sherry Pagoto. Originally published in Iproceedings (https://www.iproc.org), 27.01.2023. 2023

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 Background

Recent evidence suggests that 59%-73% of Black women are not reaching recommended targets for physical activity (PA). PA is a key modifiable lifestyle factor that can help mitigate risk for chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, which disproportionately affect Black women. Web-based communities focused on PA have been emerging in recent years as digital gathering spaces to provide support for PA in specific populations.

 Objective

The purpose of this study was to conduct a content analysis of the Black Girls Run (BGR) Facebook page, which is devoted to promoting PA in Black women and has over 230,000 followers. Such data can inform future social media–based interventions.

 Methods

We collected 397 posts and associated engagement data from the national BGR Facebook page for the 6-month period between June 1 and December 31, 2021. We then conducted a content analysis of these posts and examined which types of posts elicited the most engagement.

 Results

The content analysis revealed 8 categories of posts: shout-outs (30.7%), goals or motivational posts (16.3%), announcements (15.9%), sponsored posts or advertisements (13.6%), health-related posts (11.0%), the lived Black experience posts (5.79%), self-care posts (3.78%), and holiday-related posts or greetings (2.02%). These 397 posts attracted a total of 55,573 engagements. Of these, 33,560 were “reactions” (eg, likes) and 5082 were shares. Shout-outs elicited the highest engagement (22,268 engagements), followed by goals or motivational posts (11,490 engagements).

 Conclusions

The majority of content on the BGR Facebook page (62.9%) was focused on celebrating member achievements, motivating members to become active, and announcing and promoting active events. This content also attracted 75% of the engagement on this page. BGR appears to be a rich web-based community that offers social support for PA as well as culturally relevant health and social justice content. Web-based communities may be uniquely positioned to engage minoritized populations in health behavior. Further research should explore how to best leverage web-based communities in interventions to increase PA and other lifestyle behaviors.

 Conflicts of Interest

None declared.

 physical activity social media African Americans women’s health mHealth