Social media as a frontier for creating glaucoma awareness: strategies, prospects and challenges

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Social media, across various platforms, has introduced innovative methods for disseminating information through the use of compelling videos and graphics, thereby enhancing the capacity for information absorption and comprehension.¹ Through the years, traditional ways of creating glaucoma awareness, including radio, television broadcasts and community outreach programs, which are limited by geographical boundaries, have been employed. Despite this, awareness and knowledge about glaucoma remain low, particularly in developing countries.² Social media platforms present an opportunity to reach a global audience with crucial glaucoma health information and allow feedback and engagement. We hereby present the results of a social media awareness campaign carried out during the 2024 World Glaucoma Week (WGW).

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of social media content and engagements created using the social media handles of the Ophthalmology department of the University of Ilorin teaching hospital, Ilorin, on four social media platforms during the 2024 World Glaucoma Week.  The platforms used were Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. Core patient information messages were put together by selected members of the eye care team of the Hospital. Graphic designs of patient information flyers were made. Patient information videos were created to give enough content for the awareness campaign, and these were uploaded daily throughout the WGW. Student and staff volunteers were named as glaucoma awareness ambassadors who worked to share and repost the social media posts and create engagement. Attempts were also made to contact the celebrities on social media pages in Nigeria, but no tangible responses were received from them.

RESULTS

A total of 24 posts, including 11 videos, 5 infographics and pictures, were made and shared across all 4 platforms. The 11 Instagram videos got a total of 1,753 views and 194 likes, the 11 Facebook videos got a total of 2,351 views, the 11 YouTube videos got 795 views, and the 11 Twitter videos got 380 views, 5440 impressions and 203 likes.  The same videos were shared across all platforms. A total of 45 glaucoma awareness ambassadors worked throughout the glaucoma week to share the social media content. The absence of a dedicated social media manager posed significant challenges, requiring team members to spend additional time outside their regular professional schedule to manage content and engagement. Also, limited technical skills in digital media management hindered the optimal utilization of the social platforms. The specific limitations included the need for continuous posting of content, tracking insights made by the social media platforms, ensuring impressions on viewers’ comments, technical skills of continued creation of infographics/ carousels, monitoring of growth metrics on the social media pages, and a lack of familiarity with paid social media tools. The prohibitive cost of engaging social media influencers was also a limitation, as well as sustainability, as social media requires dedicated and consistent effort over time to yield results. 

CONCLUSION

Social media is a frontier for creating glaucoma awareness and education to encourage early detection, which should be explored more by the eye care community.