%0 Journal Article
%@ 1438-8871
%I JMIR Publications
%V 24
%N 9
%P e38541
%T Evaluating the Effectiveness of Internet-Based Communication for Public Health: Systematic Review
%A Ceretti,Elisabetta
%A Covolo,Loredana
%A Cappellini,Francesca
%A Nanni,Alberto
%A Sorosina,Sara
%A Beatini,Andrea
%A Taranto,Mirella
%A Gasparini,Arianna
%A De Castro,Paola
%A Brusaferro,Silvio
%A Gelatti,Umberto
%+ Section of Public Health and Human Sciences, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia, Viale Europa 11, Brescia, 25123, Italy, 39 3381617907, francesca.cappellini@unibs.it
%K internet-based communication
%K websites
%K social media
%K public health
%K efficacy
%K systematic review
%K communication
%K internet-based
%K health information
%K exchange
%K health care
%K web-based
%K campaigns
%D 2022
%7 13.9.2022
%9 Review
%J J Med Internet Res
%G English
%X Background: Communicating strategically is a key issue for health organizations. Over the past decade, health care communication via social media and websites has generated a great deal of studies examining different realities of communication strategies. However, when it comes to systematic reviews, there is fragmentary evidence on this type of communication. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence on web institutional health communication for public health authorities to evaluate possible aim-specific key points based on these existing studies. Methods: Guided by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement, we conducted a comprehensive review across 2 electronic databases (PubMed and Web of Science) from January 1, 2011, to October 7, 2021, searching for studies investigating institutional health communication. In total, 2 independent researchers (AN and SS) reviewed the articles for inclusion, and the assessment of methodological quality was based on the Kmet appraisal checklist. Results: A total of 78 articles were selected. Most studies (35/78, 45%) targeted health promotion and disease prevention, followed by crisis communication (24/78, 31%), general health (13/78, 17%), and misinformation correction and health promotion (6/78, 8%). Engagement and message framing were the most analyzed aspects. Few studies (14/78, 18%) focused on campaign effectiveness. Only 23% (18/78) of the studies had an experimental design. The Kmet evaluation was used to distinguish studies presenting a solid structure from lacking studies. In particular, considering the 0.75-point threshold, 36% (28/78) of the studies were excluded. Studies above this threshold were used to identify a series of aim-specific and medium-specific suggestions as the communication strategies used differed greatly. Conclusions: Overall, the findings suggest that no single strategy works best in the case of web-based health care communication. The extreme variability of outcomes and the lack of a unitary measure for assessing the end points of a specific campaign or study lead us to reconsider the tools we use to evaluate the efficacy of web-based health communication. 
%M 36098994
%R 10.2196/38541
%U https://www.jmir.org/2022/9/e38541
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/38541
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36098994