Talking about Aboriginal Gambling: Examining the effectiveness of Facebook groups to reduce gambling harm within Aboriginal communities in New South Wales, Australia

The impact of Facebook online health communities to address gambling harm in Aboriginal communities in NSW, Australia. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of a community-developed, co-designed online health promotion platform in reducing harm from gambling in NSW Aboriginal communities. The proposed evaluation methodology is a Randomised Control Trial (RCT) stepped-wedge design, as well as a mixed-methods process evaluation. The trial will consist of 10 steps, spaced 2 weeks apart. Materials utilised for the trial will include Facebook, with all participants having their own personal account. This will be accessed through participant’s personal digital devices. The online content will consist of discussion prompts about gambling, information about the harms of gambling, information about gambling odds, and support services available in the community. This will be conveyed through community-generated videos, informational posts and forum discussion. A schedule for the Facebook content has been developed, whereby each fortnight focuses on a different theme. The six themes are strength, drivers, awareness, alternatives, helping and reflection. Every 2-3 days a new post will be made to the group. The groups will be moderated by the research team for 12 weeks, after which the Facebook group will continue to exist, but content will not continue to be posted routinely. Recruitment will be conducted through Facebook advertising, and though word-of-mouth within the communities. All individuals that are over the age of 18 and live in the participating communities are able to join the group. While the focus is Aboriginal communities in NSW, individuals who do not identify as Indigenous are still in scope of the study. The treatment is exposure to the Facebook group, and therefore there is no individual providing the treatment. Frequency of access to the group is to the participant’s discretion. Data on interaction with the group will be collected. Participants will access the online resource in any location where they feel comfortable. Treatment will not be personalised or adapted to individuals within the study. Adherence will be assessed by asking participants the frequency with which they accessed the Facebook group. Only those who are in the Facebook group will be eligible to participate in the study.