Sexual health promotion using social networks in Spain

Background: Sexual health promotion is an act of social responsibility that usually centres on delivering practical advice to the general public or to risk populations. The methods for transmitting these recommendations have begun to change over the past few years, with the rapid growth of so-called social networking sites. The objective of this study was to investigate the involvement of these social networks in the promotion of sexual health in Spain. Methods: We investigated sexual health promotion activities in the most widely used social networking sites in Spain: Facebook, Twitter, and Tuenti, using a set of key words and analyzing particular characteristics of the records retrieved, including the type of body responsible or owner, the objectives, the subject matter, and the target population. Results: We selected 124 records obtained from Twitter (65), Facebook (57), and Tuenti (2). Most of the owners were from the private sector, generally non-institutionalized, and the most frequent objective was to prevent exposure to the human immunodeficiency virus. The general public was the target population for most activities, followed by specific risk groups and young people/adolescents. Conclusions: These are the first data published on sexual health promotion through social networking sites in Spain. The almost nonexistent use of Tuenti by public institutions and other social network agencies and actors means that a large number of Spanish adolescents, the main users of this network, do not access the few programmed activities for sexual health promotion. It is essential to investigate how adolescents access these networks before designing future interventions.