Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Infodemiology
Date Submitted: Oct 22, 2024
Date Accepted: Jun 27, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Where is Average Joe? – #antibioticresistance on Instagram
ABSTRACT
Background:
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health issue heavily influenced by human behaviour. Effective communication and awareness-raising are crucial in curbing AMR, with social network sites (SNSs) significantly shaping health behaviours. Despite their potential, current analyses of AMR on SNSs have focused mainly on top-down communication initiatives.
Objective:
This study aims to examine AMR on Instagram, identifying key actors, content themes, and the nature of the communication to understand how AMR is portrayed and perceived.
Methods:
Based on the Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver model, this study used content analysis to review publicly accessible posts on Instagram. The data refer to 24 months, focusing on the hashtag #antibioticresistance. After cleaning the data, 611 posts (10% of the total) were analysed.
Results:
Instagram users primarily aimed to inform the public about AMR (81.3%). Content creators were predominantly information drivers or professionals in science and health. Posts frequently featured text-dominated visuals or images of bacteria and lab tests. However, the post of AMR was found to be siloed, with limited engagement beyond specific interest groups. The study highlighted the neutrality and accuracy of the content but noted the challenge of reaching a broader audience.
Conclusions:
While Instagram serves as a platform for accurate and informative AMR communication, the post of it remains confined to niche groups, limiting its broader impact. To enhance engagement, AMR discussions should be integrated into more general interest content, utilise visually compelling formats, and encourage institutional participation and interactive user engagement.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.