Animations designed to raise patient awareness of prudent antibiotic use: patient recall of key messages and their immediate effect on patient attitude

Influencing attitudes towards antimicrobial use and resistance in companion animals-the impact on pet owners of a short animation in a randomized controlled trial

Objectives

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a vital One Health issue; the rational use of antimicrobials is essential to preserve their efficacy. Veterinarians cite pressure from pet owners as a contributor to antimicrobial prescription. Engaging pet owners in antimicrobial stewardship could reduce this pressure. A short educational animation could facilitate communication of this message. The impact of the animation on participant's opinions relating to antimicrobial prescribing and awareness of AMR was assessed via a randomized controlled trial.

Methods

A survey was created based on the health belief model. Owners attending six UK veterinary centres were randomized to the intervention or control group (ratio 1:1). All owners completed an agreement level survey of two questions followed by 18 statements scored using a Likert agreement scale. The control group responded without interruption, whereas the animation group was shown the animation after answering the first two questions and five statements.

Results

In total, 647 owners participated in the study; 350 complete responses were analysed. Responses to 10 of 13 statements asked after the animation were significantly different (all P < 0.050) between groups, whereas there was no significant difference between groups in response to any of the statements asked before the animation. The animation group were more likely to agree that lower antimicrobial use would help maintain future efficacy (P < 0.001) and that requesting antimicrobials from their vet could increase unnecessary use (P < 0.001). The animation group were more likely to disagree that they would expect antimicrobials if their pet had diarrhoea (P = 0.048).

Conclusions

Pet owners that watched a short AMR engagement animation displayed greater awareness of the impact of AMR and were more likely to support measures in line with antimicrobial stewardship. This behavioural-nudge resource could support owners towards contributing to a multi-faceted approach to AMR.

An evaluation of a short film promoting kindness in Wales during COVID-19 restrictions #TimeToBeKind

BACKGROUND

In response to successive COVID-19 restrictions in Wales, the Welsh ACE Support Hub launched the #TimeToBeKind campaign in March 2021. The campaign used a short film broadcast on national television and promoted on social media to encourage behaviour change for kindness. We evaluated the #TimeToBeKind campaign film to identify whether watching the film would result in increased intention to act in ways that promote kindness to others and if intentions were associated with being emotionally affected by the film.

METHODS

A mixed methods evaluation was employed, using a short online survey and interaction with the film on the Twitter social media platform. The online survey measured public (n = 390) attitudes towards the film including feelings invoked, and behavioural intentions for acts of kindness as a result of viewing the film. Tweets which interacted with the film (n = 59; likes, re-tweets or comments), and tweet sentiment (positive, negative, or neutral) towards the film were also explored.

RESULTS

The majority of participants reported positive attitudes to the film and agreed that they understood the campaign message (91.8%). 67.9% reported that the film made them feel upset or sad and for 22.6% the film resonated with their lockdown experience. As a result of seeing the film, 63.6% reported intentions to be kinder to others, 65.6% intended to try and help other members of their community, and 70.5% were more likely to check in on friends, family and neighbours. A higher proportion of individuals who were emotionally affected by the film (e.g. upset or sad, hopeful or encouraged, gained something positive) and those for whom the film resonated with their lockdown experience reported increased kindness behavioural intentions as a result of seeing the film.

CONCLUSIONS

Film can be an effective tool to promote behaviour change for kindness. Films that provoke strong emotional reactions can still be perceived positively and lead to behaviour change. With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating a move online for many, the findings of the present evaluation are relevant to how public health messaging can adapt and utilise this space to target individuals and promote behaviour change.

Online Mental Health Animations for Young People: Qualitative Empirical Thematic Analysis and Knowledge Transfer

Background

Mental ill-health is one of the most significant health and social issues affecting young people globally. To address the mental health crisis, a number of cross-sectoral research and action priorities have been identified. These include improving mental health literacy, translating research findings into accessible public health outputs, and the use of digital technologies. There are, however, few examples of public health–oriented knowledge transfer activities involving collaborations between researchers, the Arts, and online platforms in the field of youth mental health.

Objective

The primary aim of this project was to translate qualitative research findings into a series of online public mental health animations targeting young people between the ages of 16 and 25 years. A further aim was to track online social media engagement and viewing data for the animations for a period of 12 months.

Methods

Qualitative data were collected from a sample of 17 youth in Ireland, aged 18-21 years, as part of the longitudinal population-based Adolescent Brain Development study. Interviews explored the life histories and the emotional and mental health of participants. The narrative analysis revealed 5 thematic findings relating to young people’s emotional and mental health. Through a collaboration between research, the Arts, and the online sector, the empirical thematic findings were translated into 5 public health animations. The animations were hosted and promoted on 3 social media platforms of the Irish youth health website called SpunOut. Viewing data, collected over a 12-month period, were analyzed to determine the reach of the animations.

Results

Narrative thematic analysis identified anxiety, depression, feeling different, loneliness, and being bullied as common experiences for young people. These thematic findings formed the basis of the animations. During the 12 months following the launch of the animations, they were viewed 15,848 times. A majority of views occurred during the period of the social media ad campaign at a cost of €0.035 (approximately US $0.042) per view. Animations on feeling different and being bullied accounted for the majority of views.

Conclusions

This project demonstrates that online animations provide an accessible means of translating empirical research findings into meaningful public health outputs. They offer a cost-effective way to provide targeted online information about mental health, coping, and help-seeking to young people. Cross-sectoral collaboration is required to leverage the knowledge and expertise required to maximize the quality and potential reach of any knowledge transfer activities. A high level of engagement is possible by targeting non–help-seeking young people on their native social media platforms. Paid promotion is, therefore, an important consideration when budgeting for online knowledge translation and dissemination activities in health research.