Instagram as a health education tool: Evaluating the efficacy and quality of medical content on Instagram in Azerbaijan

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundIn recent years, Instagram has become the most popular tool among professional doctors in Azerbaijan for educating their patients. The use of the Instagram application aims to raise patients’ awareness of the importance of taking care of their health and to increase their knowledge about their health conditions using modern services. In this article, the authors examine the quality of Instagram content for health education among the population.MethodsWe conducted a survey to collect anonymous data from more than 205 respondents and summarized the following points.Results65% of the respondents were already obtaining health information from Instagram before to participating in the study. 15.1 % of them frequently visit Instagram for health information while 5% had found the health information accessed there harmful. 71% of respondents think accessing health information in this way is beneficial but that the quality and usefulness of the content is average. 95% of respondents reported that the health information they obtained from the identical platform was not causing them any harmConclusionThe medical information shared on Instagram is generally considered useful and beneficial by the population, but it is desirable to improve the quality of the content.