title: The Potential Role of Social Media Platforms in Community Awareness of Antibiotic Use in the Gulf Cooperation Council States: Luxury or Necessity?
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.
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Herston QLD 4029, Australia.
authors.forename: Hosam Mamoon
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9718-6475
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Zowawi
authors.forename: Malak
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1786-3366
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abedalthagafi
authors.forename: Florie A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8342-5976
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Mar
authors.forename: Turki
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7540-8954
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Almalki
authors.forename: Abdullah H
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8964-1052
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Kutbi
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1229-7863
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harris-Brown
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3551-1025
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harbarth
authors.forename: Hanan H
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6968-2834
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Balkhy
authors.forename: David L
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0826-0654
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Paterson
authors.forename: Rihab Abdalazez
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8757-8398
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hasanain
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008877:Middle East; D061108:Social Media / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Gulf States; antibiotics; awareness; health campaigns; social media