A Year of Child Injury Prevention on Instagram

Abstract

Injury is the leading cause of death for children but little is known about what types of injury prevention messages are communicated on Instagram. Conducted in the United States, the aim of this study was to better understand child injury prevention messages on Instagram to develop recommendations for the future. Informed by Social Cognitive Theory, a quantitative content analysis was conducted on all Instagram posts from selected organizations from May 2018 through April 2019. Of the 818 injury prevention posts, almost all included an image (575, 70%) or video (211, 26%). Of the 575 images, 245 (42.46%) had in image that did not match the topic of the post. Regarding injury prevention recommendations, 579 posts (71%) provided a clear action that parents should take. For these posts, 115 (20%) had an image that communicated the desired safety recommendation, but many more (285, 50%) did not; in 23 cases it was not clear if there was a match or not. There are missed opportunities for child health and injury organizations to reach parents and caregivers through Instagram. Posts made during the study period often lacked specificity about action-oriented measures and failed to utilize images that demonstrated the recommended practices. Organizations posting on Instagram and other social media platforms should provide clear action tips and utilize images that depict child injury prevention recommendations.