Posts Characterization and User Engagement: A Preliminary Study on a Mental Health Facebook Page in New Zealand

Many health organizations use Facebook as a platform to engage with users. This has resulted in many research studies conducted on this platform. One popular type of research study is to characterize posts and measure user engagement levels . In this study, 100 post on the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand Facebook page was analyzed this purpose. A mixed method approach was used. Quantitative descriptive statistics was used to analyze levels of engagement whilst qualitative content analysis was used to characterize posts into themes. Preliminary results indicate most posts fit in the awareness theme followed by the campaign theme. High levels of user engagements was observed for posts related to the awareness and others theme. Results of this study makes the suggestion for the implementation of intervention type awareness posts. A recommendation is also to made that the awareness posts promote mental health education and communication. This research study adds new knowledge to the area of posts characterization and user engagement levels on a mental health Facebook page.