Facebook as a follow-up tool for women with criminal justice histories

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-08-2019-0042
• Published date: 10 April 2020
• Date: 10 April 2020
• Pages: 117-122
• Author: Ashlyn Lipnicky,Patricia J. Kelly,Megha Ramaswamy
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice

Facebook as a follow-up tool for

women with criminal justice histories

Ashlyn Lipnicky, Patricia J. Kelly and Megha Ramaswamy

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of thisstudy is to measure Facebook (FB) use as a tool for maintainingresearch

contactwith hard-to-reach women with criminaljustice histories.

Design/methodology/approach –Retrospective data were analyzed from a jail health intervention.

Bivariate analysis compared the rates of follow-up between FB group users and non-FBgroup users at

one post-interventiontime point. Multivariatemodels explored predictors for FB group follow-up.

Findings –Among 184 participants, 89 (48.4%) used the private research FB group. This group was

more likely to complete the follow-upsurvey one year after enrollment compared to non-FBgroup users

(P= 0.002). Regression analyses showedthat, compared to non-FB group users, FB group users were

more likelyto be younger and have a history of sexually transmitted infections.

Practical implications –FB is popular among women withcriminal justice histories. Use of this social

media sitewith study participants from hard-to-reachpopulations may enhance studyretention.

Originality/value –This paper fills a gapin examining the long-term use of FB as a researchstrategy to

maintaincontain with typically hard-to-reachpopulations.

Keywords Retention, Social media, Criminal justice, Prison, Prison medicine, Public health

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Social media sites are a powerful communication tool. Facebook (FB) is the most popular

form of social media used worldwide, with 2.3 billion users, including two-thirds of

Americans (Facebook, 2015). Ease of access makes FB a reliable choice, especially

among transient, hard-to-reach populations, such as individuals with criminal justice

backgrounds. FB allows direct communication and two-way interaction betweenusers, thus

creating a network of individuals. FB access is increasing across a variety of populationsas

the cost of smartphones decreases: 61 per cent of people with a high school education or

less report having used FB (Pew Research Center,2019).

Public health researchers use social media sites such as FB because of its quick and

inexpensive access to specific populations and multidirectional line of communication. FB has

been used for study recruitment and screening, as a prevention tool, as a mechanism to

deliver interventions and as a health promotion tool (Pedersen and Kurz, 2016). FB has also

been shown to be effective in longitudinal studies. Mychasiuk and Benzies (2011) used FB to

find additional study participants that would have otherwise been lost to follow-up, wherea s

Dickson et al. (2016) found FB to be a useful strategy to locate rural drug users for 3-month

follow-ups. FB can be an effective tool to maintain contact with participants over long peri ods

of time and has been hypothesized to be effective among transient populations, individuals

with drug histories and persons with criminal backgrounds (Dickso n et al.,2016).

Women with criminal justice backgrounds lead complex lives, with unstable housing and

frequent moves. Many have unpredictable cell phone access with frequent use of

Ashlyn Lipnicky is based at

the Department of

Population Health,

University of Kansas

Medical Center, Kansas

City, Kansas, USA.

Patricia J. Kelly is based at

the School of Nursing and

Health Sciences, University

of Missouri Kansas City,

Kansas City, Missouri, USA.

Megha Ramaswamy is

based at the Department of

Population Health,

University of Kansas

Medical Center, Kansas

City, Kansas, USA.

Received 22 August 2019

Revised 19 November 2019

8 January 2020

Accepted 9 January 2020

DOI 10.1108/IJPH-08-2019-0042 VOL. 16 NO. 2 2020,pp. 117-122, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200 jINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRISONER HEALTH jPAGE 117