Cand.psykol. Elia Gabarron Hortal disputerer for ph.d.-graden i helsevitenskap og vil offentlig forsvare avhandlingen:
“Social media and sexual health – New arenas for information on sexually transmitted infections and promotion of healthy sexual behavior”
Kort sammendrag av avhandlingen:
Several hundred million people contract sexually transmitted infections every year worldwide. Especially young people are at great risk of infection. Social media have already surpassed two billion users. Its large coverage gives potential for reaching a huge amount of people in a very short time and thus make these networks valued spaces to promote sexual health. However, we do not know if the use of social media for sexual health promotion could result in better health outcomes. Reviews analyzing the effect of health promotion interventions delivered through social media have reported small and moderate effects on behavior change while pilot studies show positive effects on self-reported outcomes.
To increase knowledge on how sexual health is promoted through social media, Elia Gabarron reviewed publications from academic and non-governmental organizations. She found that around 25 percent of the studies have positive findings. However better study designs are needed. In addition, Gabarron presents a case study where she used social media to promote sexual health among North-Norwegian youngsters. Two observational studies showed that people have an interest for sexual health topics, they discuss it in the social media, and they search for information in these medias at specific moments.
Veiledere
Hovedveileder professor Artur Serrano
Biveileder professor Rolf Wynn
Bedømmelseskomiteen
Professor Christian Nøhr, Aaborg Universitet, Danmark - 1. opponent
Professor Marta Aymerich, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spania - 2. opponent
Professor Brita Elvevåg, Institutt for klinisk medisin, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, UiT – Norges arktiske universitet – leder av komiteen
Disputasleder
Professor Ruth H. Paulssen, Institutt for klinisk medisin, Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, UiT – Norges arktiske universitet
Prøveforelesning over oppgitt emne holdes kl. 10.15 samme dag og sted.