Journal Article

The Potential Role of Social Media Platforms in Community Awareness of Antibiotic Use in the Gulf Cooperation Council States: Luxury or Necessity?

Paterson, David L, Zowawi, Hosam Mamoon, Hasanain, Rihab Abdalazez, Harbarth, Stephan, Abedalthagafi, Malak, Almalki, Turki, Kutbi, Abdullah H, Mar, Florie A, Harris-Brown, Tiffany, Balkhy, Hanan H

2015

Overview

The increasing emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious public health issue. Increasing the awareness of the general public about appropriate antibiotic use is a key factor for combating this issue. Several public media campaigns worldwide have been launched; however, such campaigns can be costly and the outcomes are variable and difficult to assess. Social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, are now frequently utilized to address health-related issues. In many geographical locations, such as the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain), these platforms are becoming increasingly popular. The socioeconomic status of the GCC states and their reliable communication and networking infrastructure has allowed the penetration and scalability of these platforms in the region. This might explain why the Saudi Ministry of Health is using social media platforms alongside various other media platforms in a large-scale public awareness campaign to educate at-risk communities about the recently emerged Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). This paper discusses the potential for using social media tools as cost-efficient and mass education platforms to raise awareness of appropriate antibiotic use in the general public and in the medical communities of the Arabian Peninsula.

• Publisher: Journal of Medical Internet Research,Gunther Eysenbach MD MPH, Associate Professor,JMIR Publications Inc,JMIR Publications
• Subject: Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use / Antibiotics / Antimicrobial agents / Brochures / Campaigns / Community / Consciousness / Cooperation / Drug resistance / Drug resistance in microorganisms / Education / Educational materials / General public / Health aspects / Health Promotion - statistics & numerical data / Humans / Infrastructure / International cooperation / Internet / Intervention / Mass media / Mass media effects / Middle East / Networking / Nosocomial infections / Penetration / Perceptions / Pharmacy / Prescriptions / Public health / Resistance / Social media / Social Media - statistics & numerical data / Social networks / Socioeconomic status / Streptococcus infections / Vaccines / Viewpoint / Viral infections / Visual aids / Web site management software / Websites