Yen-Jung Chang
All Authors:Yen-Jung Chang, PhD1, Yu-Chien Kao, BS2 and Ching-Ni Hsieh, BS2, (1)Associate Professor, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, (2)Student, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
Introduction
Young people have been increasingly obtained health-related information through social medias. The purpose of the study was to develop a substance use prevention intervention using a social media chatbot for the young population in Taiwan.
Methods
This study conducted a mixed methods research design to explore learning needs and interests among population aged 20-40 years. A total of 18 participants were interviewed from September to December 2021 to explore their understanding of substance use and experiences of accessing health information on the Internet. In addition, an online survey was conducted in early 2022 to assess participants’ health-related information browsing experiences, perceptions of substance use, and preferences about the format of substance use intervention materials. Quantitative data from 355 participants were collected.
Results
From the findings of qualitative interviews, we categorized two themes: participants' limited understanding of the harms of substance use, and the unawareness of substance use-related information on the Internet. Most participants actively followed social media accounts which promoted healthy dietary and physical activity, while only a few participants mentioned the experiences of obtaining information about substance use prevention through social medias.
The survey data showed the following results: (1) participants were vastly familiar to accessing health information from social media platforms (66.8%), streaming platforms (41.1%), and websites (33.0%); (2) participants showed higher frequency of browsing health information regarding fitness or disease prevention, and were less likely to browse information about substance use prevention; and (3) the preferred learning materials were warning graphics or news stories showing the negative consequences of using addictive substances.
Based on the above findings, this study developed a set of educational materials which were delivered using a social media chatbot. The chatbot was planned to be a fitness coach in order to attract young participants. The coach firstly delivered the interactive messages about fitness training, and then extended to educational messages about substance use prevention. Messages were designed to convey knowledge and skills that can be applied to prevent substance use. Examples of news stories were also adopted in the intervention to enhance participants’ negative attitudes towards substance use.
Conclusions
Based on the qualitative and quantitative data, this study developed a substance use prevention intervention using a social media chatbot for young population in Taiwan. This approach might closely match the Internet habits of young people and could facilitate the implementation of substance use prevention intervention.
*As presented at the 31st Annual Society for Prevention Research (SPR) Conference during the 2023 NIDA International Program Poster Session at SPR.