2 - Effects of Smoking on Oral Health-A Social Media Campaign Between Academia and A Nonprofit Organization

Abstract: Tobacco use is the leading cause of deaths, diseases, and health care costs in our society. To encourage the widespread distribution of information on the harmful effects of tobacco use, the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) launched a pilot social media campaign in June 2021. AHEC partnered with Broward Regional Health Planning Council (BRHPC), a non-profit organization with a strong social media presence to help with the campaign. This initiative was student driven and faculty supported. Its goals were to increase awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco by sharing messages and to motivate tobacco users to seek the services provided by AHEC. The campaign started with the effects of smoking on oral health. Six social media messages and a video were developed to be disseminated across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. BRHPC utilized a hybrid approach of paid ($100) and organic (without paid promotion) during the month of June. Two metrics were used to evaluate the performance of the effects of smoking on oral health social media posts. Engagement (number of likes, comments, and shares of a post), and impressions (number of times content has entered a person’s screen). The tobacco and oral health social media posts had a total of 120 engagements and 5,028 impressions in June. These metrics showcase how social media is a powerful tool in increasing education and awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco on oral health, and how it may be a vital tool in tobacco cessation.

Source of Funding: Broward Regional Health Planning Council