Effectiveness of a School-Based Health Education Using Social Networking Media to Promote Health Behaviors in Elementary School Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

This study examined the effectiveness of an 8-week “Health Education using Social Networking Service (HE-SNS)” intervention, led by school health teachers, on perceived social support and health behaviors among elementary school students in South Korea. Using a quasi-experimental design with class-level random assignment, 90 students from six classes were assigned to the HE-SNS group, health education (HE) group, or control group. The HE-SNS intervention, led by a school nurse, integrated classroom health education with social networking activities involving students, teachers, and parents. Linear mixed model analysis revealed significant group-by-time interaction effects on social support ( F = 20.13, p < .001) and health behavior scores ( F = 24.69, p < .001). Post hoc Bonferroni tests showed that the HE-SNS group demonstrated greater improvements than the HE and control groups. These findings suggest that school nurse-facilitated SNS-based health education interventions may enhance social support and health behaviors among elementary school students.