Public Health on Instagram: an analysis of health promotion strategies of Portugal and Brazil

Abstract

Despite the increasing use of social media in Health Promotion (HP) and Public Health, studies indicate that health entities have difficulties guaranteeing citizens’ participation in these platforms. This exploratory study analyzed the topics covered and the interactions with followers on the Instagram profiles of both the National Health Service (NHS) from Portugal and of the Ministry of Health (MH) from Brazil, in 2019. The sample showed that nationals HP agendas compete with political topics: of the 208 posts from the NHS, 19.2% were about the government, and of the 424 posts from the MH, 32.20% were institutional. Fifty-three health topics were mapped in the NHS profile and 63 in the MH profile. In Portugal, there wasn’t interaction with followers and in Brazil, the interaction was reduced. It is necessary to refine communication strategies to increase the reach of these profiles and encourage participation.