Exploring the role of social media in a gender integrated health promotion program

background: Many educators (up to 90%) use social media of some sort to complement classroom education. However, the effectiveness of social media use in health education and promotion among teens is not clear. The Philadelphia Ujima Coalition for a Healthier Community funded by the Office on Women's Health, employs a gender integrated health promotion intervention and social media reinforcement activities with high schools students. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a social media intervention used to compliment health education on gender, nutrition, sexual health and healthy relationships. methods:  The social media intervention was implemented with 100 ninth grade students in a partner school as part of their health class. Students completed a baseline social media survey prior to the initiation of the intervention. Infographics, images and other content were posted weekly on social media related to health topics discussed in class. Debriefing sessions with students at the end each quarter were implemented to assess student perceptions. Social media activity was also assessed using the parameters of reach (number of followers and likes), exposure (views, reposts, shares) and engagement (action taken as a result of messages).  results: The reach and exposure scores increased throughout the intervention. Students also shared how the social media posts allowed them to think differently about the messages posted and the importance of being able to reflect on them in private without being judged.  conclusion: Lessons learned were identified to enhance assessment and inclusion of social media in  health promotion programming.