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

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

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Title		The Potential Role of Social Media Platforms in Community Awareness of Antibiotic Use in the Gulf Cooperation Council States: Luxury or Necessity?
Authors		Zowawi, Hosam Mamoon Abedalthagafi, Malak Mar, Florie A Almalki, Turki Kutbi, Abdullah H Harris-Brown, Tiffany Harbarth, Stéphan Juergen Balkhy, Hanan H Paterson, David L Hasanain, Rihab Abdalazez show all authors [1 - 10]
Published in		Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2015, vol. 17, no. 10, p. e233
Abstract		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.
Keywords		Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use — Health Promotion/utilization — Humans — Middle East — Social Media/utilization
Identifiers		DOI: 10.2196/jmir.3891 PMID: 26471079
Full text		Article (Published version) (476 Kb) - Free access
Structures		Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine clinique / Département de médecine interne des spécialités
Research group		Groupe Harbarth Stephan (Staphylocoques dorés résistants à la méthicilline) (866)
Citation (ISO format)		ZOWAWI, Hosam Mamoon et al. The Potential Role of Social Media Platforms in Community Awareness of Antibiotic Use in the Gulf Cooperation Council States: Luxury or Necessity?. In: Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2015, vol. 17, n° 10, p. e233. https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:87635