An analysis of a video education campaign on COVID-19 for healthcare workers in Africa delivered through Facebook.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic required rapid dissemination of accurate information across the world to both healthcare workers and the general public. Social media represents an opportunity to undertake this. The aim of this study was to analyse a healthcare worker education campaign in Africa delivered through the social media platform Facebook and discuss the feasibility of this approach for future healthcare workers and public health campaigns. METHODS: The campaign ran from June 2020 to January 2021. The Facebook Ad Manager suite was used to extract data in July 2021. Videos were analysed for total and individual video reach, impressions, 3-second video plays, 50% plays and 100% plays. The geographic use of the videos and age and gender breakdown was also analysed. RESULTS: Total reach of the Facebook campaign was 6,356,846 and total impressions was 12,767,118. The video with the highest reach was 'Hand washing steps for health workers' with a reach of 1,479,603. The total campaign 3-second plays were 2,189,460 decreasing to 77,120 for 100% play duration. DISCUSSION: Facebook advertising campaigns may have the ability to reach large populations and achieve a range of engagement outcomes that would be more cost effective and have greater reach when compared with traditional media. The outcome of this campaign has shown the potential of social media's use in public health information, medical education and professional development.

The association between the maternal diet and the maternal and infant gut microbiome: a systematic review.

During pregnancy, changes occur to influence the maternal gut microbiome, and potentially the fetal microbiome. Diet has been shown to impact the gut microbiome. Little research has been conducted examining diet during pregnancy with respect to the gut microbiome. To meet inclusion criteria, dietary analyses must have been conducted as part of the primary aim. The primary outcome was the composition of the gut microbiome (infant or maternal), as assessed using culture-independent sequencing techniques. This review identified seven studies for inclusion, five examining the maternal gut microbiome and two examining the fetal gut microbiome. Microbial data were attained through analysis of stool samples by 16S rRNA gene-based microbiota assessment. Studies found an association between the maternal diet and gut microbiome. High-fat diets (% fat of total energy), fat-soluble vitamins (mg/day) and fibre (g/day) were the most significant nutrients associated with the gut microbiota composition of both neonates and mothers. High-fat diets were significantly associated with a reduction in microbial diversity. High-fat diets may reduce microbial diversity, while fibre intake may be positively associated with microbial diversity. The results of this review must be interpreted with caution. The number of studies was low, and the risk of observational bias and heterogeneity across the studies must be considered. However, these results show promise for dietary intervention and microbial manipulation in order to favour an increase of health-associated taxa in the gut of the mother and her offspring.