JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant global health threat. Several public health campaigns aimed to raise AMR awareness and inspire related behavioural change have been delivered in a time-specific, coordinated manner, while others have placed lesser emphasis on the campaign timing. Social media platforms can be leveraged as key vehicles in delivering public health campaigns, and in particular, by collaborating with health content creators as influential messengers. Increasingly, organisations such as the WHO and TikTok have created health content creator networks, yet the impact of such networks in public health campaigns, especially when delivered in a coordinated, time-specific remain uncertain.

Objective:

This study aimed to coordinate a health content creator network to release time-specific social media video content on AMR, and in turn evaluate the impact of such coordinated social media content release on audience engagement.

Methods:

We conducted a prospective study evaluating the effect of a coordinated social media campaign (“Pulse”) on the YouTube platform by the Content, Health and AMR Innovation Network (CHAIN) during the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR. A media pack with evidence-based core AMR messaging was distributed prior to the “Pulse” date. CHAIN members prepared and released AMR-related videos the “Pulse” date. Engagement metrics (views, likes, comments) were extracted six months post-release via the YouTube Data Application Programme Interface (API). For each “Pulse” video, a similar non-coordinated video from the same creator was selected for paired comparison, and baseline engagement was calculated from all videos published by the creators over a 12-months window around the “Pulse” date. Paired t-tests or Wilcoxon Signed-rank tests were used, depending on data normality, to compare engagement between coordinated and non-coordinated videos, and against creators’ average engagement.

Results:

On 26th September 2024, eighteen “Pulse” videos were released onto 14 YouTube channels. At six months, videos had a total of 6153 views, 262 likes, and 76 comments. Compared with paired videos, campaign videos had significantly more likes (6.18 [95% CI: 0.5; 19], P = 0.041) and comments (2.83 [95% CI: 1; 7], P = 0.037), yet no difference in views (9.94 [95% CI: -31.5; 237], P = 0.15). When compared with creators’ 12-month channel averages, campaign videos had significantly lower view count (-0.32 [95% CI: -0.49; -0.14]), although the difference was not significant when matched by video format.

Conclusions:

Coordinating health content creators to release AMR-related videos on YouTube coinciding with an International event on AMR has increased audience interactivity, but did not enhance overall reach compared with sporadic releases. AMR content generally attracted lower engagement than other health topics. Future campaigns should optimise content format, scale, and messaging to maximise impact, and assess effects on AMR-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. Clinical Trial: Not applicable