THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FACEBOOK-BASED HEALTH EDUCATION IN IMPROVING HYPERTENSION KNOWLEDGE AND HEALTHCARE VISIT INTENTION AMONG OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

Hypertension remains a major public health problem among older adults because it often develops without specific symptoms and may lead to serious complications if not properly controlled. Limited knowledge about hypertension and low motivation to visit healthcare facilities may hinder early detection and routine monitoring among older adults. Facebook, as a familiar social media platform, has the potential to support health education by delivering simple, repeated, and accessible health messages. This study employed a quantitative pre-experimental approach with a one-group pretest–posttest design to examine the effectiveness of Facebook-based health content in improving hypertension knowledge and healthcare visit intention among adults aged 50 years and older in the working area of Pemali Primary Health Center in 2026. A total of 92 respondents were selected using purposive sampling. The intervention consisted of hypertension-related health content delivered through Facebook using simple language, visual support, and communicative messages. Data were collected using a hypertension knowledge questionnaire and a healthcare visit intention questionnaire before and after the intervention. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov normality test, and the paired sample t-test. The findings showed that the mean hypertension knowledge score increased from 5.82 before the intervention to 8.58 after the intervention. The mean healthcare visit intention score also increased from 27.78 to 32.82. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in both hypertension knowledge and healthcare visit intention before and after the intervention (p < 0.001). These findings indicate that Facebook-based health content is effective in improving hypertension knowledge and healthcare visit intention among older adults. This digital health promotion strategy may support primary healthcare services in strengthening preventive education and encouraging routine health visits for hypertension control.