Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025428 (Oral 108) | Published: 15 Aug 2025
Ramatu Ada Ochekliye1,&, Olayinka Airat Badmus2,3, Omolara Arike Oyinlola2,3, Nathanael Bamigboye Afolabi2,3
1Shades of Us, Abuja, Nigeria; Afrihealth for Social Development and Impact (ASDI), Abuja, Nigeria, 2Independent Researcher, Abuja, Nigeria, 3Development Information and Health Research Associates (DiHRA), Abuja, Nigeria
&Corresponding author: Ramatu Ada Ochekliye, Shades of Us, Abuja, Nigeria. Email: rochekliye@gmail.com
Received: 01 June 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 15 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Digital Media, Social Media, Social Media Campaigns, Healthcare Workers, Lassa Fever
©Ramatu Ada Ochekliye et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Ramatu Ada Ochekliye et al., Equipping healthcare providers with accurate Lassa Fever information through a digital SBC campaign. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00108. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00108
Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic illness endemic to West Africa, continues to challenge public health efforts in Nigeria. Misinformation about its prevention and management, especially on platforms like WhatsApp, undermines effective responses. Healthcare providers (HCPs), who serve as trusted sources of health information, play a critical role in controlling disease spread but remain vulnerable to misinformation. Digital interventions that target HCPs can strengthen their ability to combat false information.
In 2022, Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria launched a six-month digital SBC campaign in Bauchi, Sokoto, and Oyo states. Partnering with 28 medical associations and health agencies, the campaign trained HCPs on content creation, audience engagement, and social media strategies. It delivered messages about Lassa fever symptoms, transmission, prevention, and response via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The campaign also established a WhatsApp community of practice to facilitate peer support and real-time information sharing. We tracked campaign performance through metrics such as audience reach, engagement, and referrals to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) website.
The campaign created twenty Facebook pages for professional associations, sharing 175 posts, 104 of which were promoted with ads. It reached over 10.3 million individuals on Facebook between May and September 2022. Additionally, 2,950 HCPs actively participated in the WhatsApp community, many of whom became advocates for accurate Lassa fever information within their networks.
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