Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in Bangladesh through digital communications: a pilot study
One of the key strategic objectives of the World Health Organisation’s global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) action plan is to improve public awareness and understanding of this issue. Very few AMR awareness campaigns have targeted the animal production sector, particularly in low- and middle-income...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Global Health Action |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1734735 |
| _version_ | 1819055589236408320 |
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| author | Kelly Thornber Doina Huso Muhammad Meezanur Rahman Himangsu Biswas Mohammad Habibur Rahman Eric Brum Charles R. Tyler |
| author_facet | Kelly Thornber Doina Huso Muhammad Meezanur Rahman Himangsu Biswas Mohammad Habibur Rahman Eric Brum Charles R. Tyler |
| author_sort | Kelly Thornber |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | One of the key strategic objectives of the World Health Organisation’s global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) action plan is to improve public awareness and understanding of this issue. Very few AMR awareness campaigns have targeted the animal production sector, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where rural communities can be geographically difficult to access via traditional face-to-face community engagement methods. Aquaculture is a major food production industry in Bangladesh and across Asia, an area which poses a significant risk to global AMR dissemination. In this pilot study, we sought to investigate the potential for digital communication materials to rapidly and effectively communicate AMR messages to rural aquaculture farmers in Bangladesh. Working with stakeholders from the Bangladesh aquaculture industry, we developed a 4-minute digital animation designed specifically for this audience and assessed its capacity to engage and communicate AMR messages to farmers. We then conducted a small-scale social media campaign, to determine the potential for rapidly disseminating AMR awareness materials to a large audience across Bangladesh, where there is an extensive 4 G internet network and an ever-increasing proportion of the population (57% as of December 2019) have mobile internet access. Thirty-six farmers were surveyed: all of them liked this method of communication and 97% said it would change the way they use antibiotics in the future. Through the social media campaign, the animation received 9,100 views in the first 2 weeks alone. Although preliminary, these results demonstrate the huge potential for digital communication methods for the rapid and widespread communication of AMR awareness materials to rural aquaculture communities in Bangladesh and across Asia. Our results support the need for more research into the most appropriate and effective content of AMR awareness campaigns for aquaculture communities and question the need for explaining the science underlying AMR in such communication materials. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:09:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-78fa317d61e348c0bd2b6847e9e56222 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1654-9880 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:09:55Z |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Health Action |
| spelling | doaj.art-78fa317d61e348c0bd2b6847e9e562222022-12-21T19:02:55ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGlobal Health Action1654-98802019-12-0112S110.1080/16549716.2020.17347351734735Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in Bangladesh through digital communications: a pilot studyKelly Thornber0Doina Huso1Muhammad Meezanur Rahman2Himangsu Biswas3Mohammad Habibur Rahman4Eric Brum5Charles R. Tyler6University of ExeterBayan LepasWorldFish Bangladesh, World Fish Bangladesh Office, Banani, Dhaka, BangladeshWorldFish Bangladesh, World Fish Bangladesh Office, Banani, Dhaka, BangladeshFood and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsFood and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsUniversity of ExeterOne of the key strategic objectives of the World Health Organisation’s global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) action plan is to improve public awareness and understanding of this issue. Very few AMR awareness campaigns have targeted the animal production sector, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where rural communities can be geographically difficult to access via traditional face-to-face community engagement methods. Aquaculture is a major food production industry in Bangladesh and across Asia, an area which poses a significant risk to global AMR dissemination. In this pilot study, we sought to investigate the potential for digital communication materials to rapidly and effectively communicate AMR messages to rural aquaculture farmers in Bangladesh. Working with stakeholders from the Bangladesh aquaculture industry, we developed a 4-minute digital animation designed specifically for this audience and assessed its capacity to engage and communicate AMR messages to farmers. We then conducted a small-scale social media campaign, to determine the potential for rapidly disseminating AMR awareness materials to a large audience across Bangladesh, where there is an extensive 4 G internet network and an ever-increasing proportion of the population (57% as of December 2019) have mobile internet access. Thirty-six farmers were surveyed: all of them liked this method of communication and 97% said it would change the way they use antibiotics in the future. Through the social media campaign, the animation received 9,100 views in the first 2 weeks alone. Although preliminary, these results demonstrate the huge potential for digital communication methods for the rapid and widespread communication of AMR awareness materials to rural aquaculture communities in Bangladesh and across Asia. Our results support the need for more research into the most appropriate and effective content of AMR awareness campaigns for aquaculture communities and question the need for explaining the science underlying AMR in such communication materials.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1734735antibioticfish farmingsouth east asialow-income countriesanimationsocial mediaawareness campaign |
| spellingShingle | Kelly Thornber Doina Huso Muhammad Meezanur Rahman Himangsu Biswas Mohammad Habibur Rahman Eric Brum Charles R. Tyler Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in Bangladesh through digital communications: a pilot study Global Health Action antibiotic fish farming south east asia low-income countries animation social media awareness campaign |
| title | Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in Bangladesh through digital communications: a pilot study |
| title_full | Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in Bangladesh through digital communications: a pilot study |
| title_fullStr | Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in Bangladesh through digital communications: a pilot study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in Bangladesh through digital communications: a pilot study |
| title_short | Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in Bangladesh through digital communications: a pilot study |
| title_sort | raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance in rural aquaculture practice in bangladesh through digital communications a pilot study |
| topic | antibiotic fish farming south east asia low-income countries animation social media awareness campaign |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1734735 |
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