Use of Social Media Platforms for Integrated Immunization Awareness by the Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency
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This study investigated the use of social media by the Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (NSPHCDA) in disseminating integrated immunisation awareness messages, focusing on respondents' exposure, platform preferences, perceived effectiveness, and associated challenges. Guided by the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the study employed a quantitative survey method involving 281 respondents. Findings revealed low exposure to the agency’s campaign messages, with 69.7% of participants indicating they rarely encountered them on social media. Facebook emerged as the dominant platform used (80.7%), followed by WhatsApp (45.5%), while other platforms recorded minimal engagement. The perceived effectiveness of the agency’s social media campaigns was moderate, with 52.6% of respondents describing them as somewhat effective. Key challenges identified included the lack of timely updates (91.9%), poor user engagement and feedback mechanisms (88.7%), unengaging visual content (73.4%), and concerns about the trustworthiness of information (52.9%). The study recommends, among other measures, that the Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency should improve the consistency and reach of its social media campaigns by scheduling regular posts, enhancing the use of other platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and becoming more active in engaging users through responses to comments, polls, live Q&A sessions, and participation in community forums.
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