Pinning Pink: Messages About Hereditary Breast Cancer Risk on Pinterest

Social media messages and conversations provide an opportunity to study what users post about cancer risk and preventive behaviors. Personal stories of early detection, treatment, and survivorship are often shared. The purpose of this study was to examine the hereditary breast cancer-focused posts on the understudied visual social media platform Pinterest. Using systematic random sampling, n = 500 Pinterest posts (referred to as "pins") were collected using the keywords "breast cancer" and "genetic testing" in the late 2017. Using a quantitative content analysis, pins were coded for a variety of categories including poster identity, pin characteristics and content, the presence of Health Belief Model constructs, and engagement variables (i.e., repins/saves and comments). The primary findings of this study reveal that most pins were published by individuals and relatively few messages contained specific information about genetic testing. Study results also describe how Pinterest users interact with the content, including higher engagement with information-rich visuals and traditional breast cancer awareness symbols. The information gained from this study may serve as the foundation for better understanding how social media can be used to communicate with women about heritable breast health-related cancers, risks, and protective behaviors. Study results prompt practical recommendations for public health organizations interested in reaching women seeking information about heritable breast cancer on Pinterest.

Keywords: Breast neoplasms; Genetic testing; Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome; Social media.