SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN INFORMATION, EDUCATION, AND COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR RABIES PREVENTION: AN INTERVENTIONAL STUDY

ABSTRACT Introduction Rabies is a fatal disease that can be avoided by treating animal bites promptly. Hence, post-exposure prophylaxis is critical. As a result, the National Rabies Control Program was approved under the 12th five-year plan. One of its strategies is to engage in Information, Education and Communication activities. Social media provides an opportunity for the quick and easy dissemination of research but is constrained by a lack of peer review and the risk of misinterpretation. The efficacy of a novel social media-based knowledge dissemination strategy for rabies prevention was tested in this study. Methods An experimental study design was followed, wherein 144 preclinical medical students were included in each control and test group. The test group was administered the intervention, which exposed the participants to health education material via social media across a span of 30 days. Participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practices were observed before and after the study duration. Results There was no significant change in the responses of the control (chi-square statistic = 2.46, p-value = 0.96) and test (chi-square statistic = 1.64, p-value = 0.98) groups across the study duration. A comparison of the change in responses between the two groups revealed an insignificant difference (chi-square statistic = 1.29, p-value = 0.73). Conclusion Social media is an ineffective strategy for improvements in health literacy over a short duration. Such strategies need further validation for longer durations. Moreover, the effectiveness of the health education material itself needs to be assessed.