Leveraging the Black Girls Run Web-Based Community as a Supportive Community for Physical Activity Engagement: Mixed Methods Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND About 59-73% of Black women do not meet the 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. Online communities focused on physical activity have been emerging in recent years as virtual gathering spaces to provide support for physical activity in specific populations. One example is Black Girls Run (BGR), which is devoted to promoting physical activity in Black women. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to describe the content shared on the BGR public Facebook page, to provide insight into how online communities engage Black women in PA and inform the development of online PA interventions for Black women. METHODS We collected 397 posts and associated engagement data from the BGR public Facebook page for the 6-month period between June 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021. We then conducted a content analysis of these posts and then compared post types on engagement. RESULTS The content analysis revealed 8 categories of posts: shout-outs to members for achievements (30.7%), goals/motivational (16.3%), announcements (15.9%), sponsored/ads (13.6%), health-related (11.0%), the lived Black experience (5.79%), self-care (3.78%), and holidays/greetings (2.02%). The 397 posts attracted a total of 55,354 engagements (reactions, comments and shares). Shout-out posts elicited the highest user engagement (22,268 engagements), followed by goals/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 get active, and announcing and promoting active events. These types of posts attracted 75% of total post engagement. BGR appears to be a rich online community that offers social support for PA as well as culturally-relevant health and social justice content. Online communities may be uniquely positioned to engage minoritized populations in health behavior. Further research should explore how to leverage online communities in health promotion interventions. CLINICALTRIAL N/A