Social Media Platforms for Health Communication and Research in the Face of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross Sectional Survey in Uganda

  1. Ronald Olum
  2. Felix Bongomin

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Abstract

Objectives

(1) To examine the usage of social media and other forms of media among medical students (MS) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Uganda. (2) To assess the perceived usefulness of social media and other forms of media for COVID-19 public health campaigns.

Design

A descriptive WhatsApp messenger-based cross-sectional survey in April 2020.

Setting

Makerere University Teaching Hospitals (MUTH) and 9 of the 10 medical schools in Uganda.

Participants

HCPs at MUTH and MS in the 9 medical schools in Uganda.

Main outcome measures

We collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, sources of information on COVID-19, preferences of social media platform and perceived usefulness of the different media platforms for acquisition of knowledge on COVID-19.

Result

Overall, response rate was 21.5% for both MS and HCPs. In total, 877 (HCPS [136, 15.5%], MS [741, 85.5%]) were studied. Majority (n=555, 63.3%) were male with a median age of 24 (range: 18-66) years. Social media was a source of information for 665 (75.8%) participants. Usage was similar among MS and HCPs (565/741 (76.2%) vs. 100/136 (73.5%), p=0.5). Among the MS, commonly used social media were: WhatsApp (n=705, 95.1%) Facebook (n=405, 54.8%), Twitter (n=290, 39.1%), Instagram (n=178, 24.0) and Telegram (n=80, 10.8%). Except for WhatsApp, male MS we more likely to use the other social media platforms (p= <0.001 − 0.01). Mass media (television and radio) and social media were preferred the most useful tools for dissemination of COVID-19 related information.

Conclusion

More than two-thirds of MS and HCPs are routinely using social media in Uganda. Social media platforms may be used for dissemination of information as well as a research tool among MS and HCPs. Social media alongside other media platforms can also be used as sources of reliable information on COVID-19 as well as for dissemination of research findings and guidelines.

    Strengths and limitations

  • This is the first study in sub Saharan Africa on the use of social media for research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • The study also explores perceived usefulness of different media for COVID-19 public health campaigns.

  • Diversity of the participants consisting both healthcare professionals and medical students.

  • A relatively large sample size was enrolled in the survey despite a low response rate.

Article activity feed

  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.04.30.20086553: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementConsent: Individuals aged 18 years or older were included in the study after an informed consent was obtained.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Data analysis: Microsoft Excel 2016 was used for data cleaning and coding and STATA version 15.1 (StataCorp, College Station, TX) for analyses.
    Microsoft Excel
    suggested: (Microsoft Excel, RRID:SCR_016137)
    STATA
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)
    StataCorp
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    The study has some limitations. The relatively low response rates limit generalizability. Follow up reminders were sent to the prospective participants to improve responses. Conclusions: In conclusion, we have been able to show that social media can be robustly used to collect research data among medical students and health care professionals with high response rates. Beyond being a research tool, social media alongside other media platforms can be used as sources of reliable information on COVID-19 as well as for dissemination of research findings and guidelines.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1101/2020.04.30.20086553v1 on medRxiv