JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

In spite of the wealth of evidence regarding effective health behavior change techniques using digital interventions to focus on residents of high-income countries (HICs), there is limited information of a similar nature for lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Objective:

The goal of this review is to identify and describe the available literature regarding effective social media-based behavior change interventions within LMICs.

Methods:

We conducted a systematic review in concordance with the 2009 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched PubMed, Embase, Elsevier, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Global Index Medicus, with the final search being conducted on April 6, 2021. We excluded works published before 2000 due to the subject matter. We included studies that evaluated interventions that were at least partly conducted on a social media platform. The review’s PROSPERO registration number is CRD42020223572.

Results:

We identified 1,832 studies, of which 108 passed title-abstract review and were evaluated by full-text review. A total of 33 were included in the final analysis. While 22 studies concluded that the social media intervention was effective, only 13 quantified the level of social media engagement, and few used theory (n=8) or a conceptual model (n=5) of behavior change.

Conclusions:

We identified gaps in settings of interventions, types and sectors of interventions, the length of follow-up, evaluation techniques, the use of theoretical and conceptual models, and discussions of the privacy implications of social media use.