Protocol for a wait list randomised controlled trial: Using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy – A massive open online course

Introduction Social media can be a powerful tool for raising awareness, engaging and mobilising communities, collecting data, fostering behaviour change and advancing advocacy efforts. However, many public health professionals hesitate to incorporate social media into their work. In responding to th...

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Main Authors: McCausland, Kahlia, Wolf, Katharina, Freeman, Becky, Leavy, Justine, Leaver, Tama, Chih, HuiJun, Mullan, Barbara, Girdler, Sonya, Peaty, Gwyneth, Chenery, Mark, Jancey, Justine
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97562
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author McCausland, Kahlia
Wolf, Katharina
Freeman, Becky
Leavy, Justine
Leaver, Tama
Chih, HuiJun
Mullan, Barbara
Girdler, Sonya
Peaty, Gwyneth
Chenery, Mark
Jancey, Justine
author_facet McCausland, Kahlia
Wolf, Katharina
Freeman, Becky
Leavy, Justine
Leaver, Tama
Chih, HuiJun
Mullan, Barbara
Girdler, Sonya
Peaty, Gwyneth
Chenery, Mark
Jancey, Justine
author_sort McCausland, Kahlia
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Introduction Social media can be a powerful tool for raising awareness, engaging and mobilising communities, collecting data, fostering behaviour change and advancing advocacy efforts. However, many public health professionals hesitate to incorporate social media into their work. In responding to this need, we developed a 6-module massive open online course (MOOC) designed to improve knowledge and understanding of how to effectively frame health promotion messages and increase confidence in using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy. This paper outlines the protocol for a mixed-methods evaluation of this MOOC. Methods A wait list randomised controlled trial, guided by elements of the RE-AIM and Kirkpatrick models, will collect qualitative and quantitative data from eligible participants at three time points: baseline (T0), interim post-test (T1) and final post-test (T2). The primary outcome measure will be participants' social media context awareness. Secondary outcomes will be social media competency and the impact of the MOOC on professional practice. Additionally, a process evaluation will examine implementation, participant engagement and satisfaction with the MOOC. Conclusion This research will assess the effectiveness of a MOOC in enhancing health promotion knowledge, framing health messages, and confidence in using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy among public health professionals. The findings will inform the design and evaluation of future online programs in this field, with results disseminated upon completion of the study. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12624001486516.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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last_indexed 2025-11-14T11:48:52Z
publishDate 2025
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-975622025-04-22T02:50:01Z Protocol for a wait list randomised controlled trial: Using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy – A massive open online course McCausland, Kahlia Wolf, Katharina Freeman, Becky Leavy, Justine Leaver, Tama Chih, HuiJun Mullan, Barbara Girdler, Sonya Peaty, Gwyneth Chenery, Mark Jancey, Justine social media massive open online course health promotion Introduction Social media can be a powerful tool for raising awareness, engaging and mobilising communities, collecting data, fostering behaviour change and advancing advocacy efforts. However, many public health professionals hesitate to incorporate social media into their work. In responding to this need, we developed a 6-module massive open online course (MOOC) designed to improve knowledge and understanding of how to effectively frame health promotion messages and increase confidence in using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy. This paper outlines the protocol for a mixed-methods evaluation of this MOOC. Methods A wait list randomised controlled trial, guided by elements of the RE-AIM and Kirkpatrick models, will collect qualitative and quantitative data from eligible participants at three time points: baseline (T0), interim post-test (T1) and final post-test (T2). The primary outcome measure will be participants' social media context awareness. Secondary outcomes will be social media competency and the impact of the MOOC on professional practice. Additionally, a process evaluation will examine implementation, participant engagement and satisfaction with the MOOC. Conclusion This research will assess the effectiveness of a MOOC in enhancing health promotion knowledge, framing health messages, and confidence in using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy among public health professionals. The findings will inform the design and evaluation of future online programs in this field, with results disseminated upon completion of the study. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12624001486516. 2025 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97562 10.1016/j.cct.2025.107920 unknown
spellingShingle social media
massive open online course
health promotion
McCausland, Kahlia
Wolf, Katharina
Freeman, Becky
Leavy, Justine
Leaver, Tama
Chih, HuiJun
Mullan, Barbara
Girdler, Sonya
Peaty, Gwyneth
Chenery, Mark
Jancey, Justine
Protocol for a wait list randomised controlled trial: Using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy – A massive open online course
title Protocol for a wait list randomised controlled trial: Using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy – A massive open online course
title_full Protocol for a wait list randomised controlled trial: Using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy – A massive open online course
title_fullStr Protocol for a wait list randomised controlled trial: Using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy – A massive open online course
title_full_unstemmed Protocol for a wait list randomised controlled trial: Using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy – A massive open online course
title_short Protocol for a wait list randomised controlled trial: Using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy – A massive open online course
title_sort protocol for a wait list randomised controlled trial: using social media for health promotion, communication and advocacy – a massive open online course
topic social media
massive open online course
health promotion
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97562