Utilising social media to support HIV/STI prevention: evidence to inform a handbook for public health programme managers

This report describes and analyses the social media space and the opportunities it presents for programmes to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among youth across Europe. Part 1 consists of a ‘netnographic’ analysis of sexual health content on social media, outlining the social media platforms studied, methods used, findings, and discussion. Part 2 reports the methods and findings of in-depth interviews conducted with young people in Europe, and summarises emerging recommendations. Part 3 then identifies some promising approaches to the use of selected media and gamification, as well as other approaches that may be available to health programmes.