Authors: Catherine E. Sanders, Kristin E. Gibson, Allison R. Byrd, Tatevik Markosyan, & Alexa Lamm
Dr. Katie Sanders’ research presentation about social media use patterns and of rural Georgia audiences was awarded the 2023 Runner-Up Outstanding Research Paper at the Association for Communication Excellence Conference held in Asheville, North Carolina.
The presentation was titled, “Exploring the social media health information seeking patterns of rural residents to provide communication strategies for Extension.”
The presentation detailed how Extension professionals need to know best practices for delivering health information and education to rural Georgia residents. Rural residents’ behavior and information-seeking patterns can vary compared to residents of urban areas, and the researchers sought to understand how they could better understand these nuanced communication preferences. Using a 2022 survey of rural Georgia residents as part of the Healthier Together Project, the authors gathered information on social media use of respondents, as well as demographics, and the Extension programs that the respondents found most useful.
The results revealed the respondents who used social media more frequently were more likely to trust it for health information. Therefore, Extension personnel should focus on targeting high social media users with health information about services they are most likely to use.
Congratulations to the collaborative author team on this effort! To learn more about other Lamm Lab research associated with Healthier Together, visit our page on Community Development projects.
