Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Animation Video

Abstract

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, despite the fact that reducing antibiotic usage in animal production is considered a crucial component of international efforts to tackle AMR. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), rural communities can be difficult to access via traditional face-to-face engagement methods due to geographical, time and cost constraints, and the complex concepts and issues underlying AMR can be difficult to convey. In this pilot study, we sought to investigate the potential for digital communication materials to 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 campaign materials across a large audience in Bangladesh, where there is an extensive 4G internet network and a large proportion of the population have access to mobile phones. 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 two weeks alone. Our results question the need for explaining the science underlying AMR, and support the need for more research into the most appropriate and effective content of AMR awareness campaigns. 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 beyond.