Promoting neurosurgery interest among medical students in Africa: An analysis of the social media handles of the Association of Future African Neurosurgeons

Abstract

[Accepted Research Article]

Background: Social media (SoMe) is a powerful tool in the armamentarium of the modern-day physician. It can help advance education, research, and advocacy in neurosurgery. The African continent with a considerable burden of neurosurgical disease lacks the necessary human resources to meet neurosurgical needs. There is a lack of comprehensive analysis of SoMe strategy as well as its impact in neurosurgery practice and interest groups in Africa. The Association of Future African Neurosurgeons (AFAN), an African neurosurgery interest group, evaluated the impact of its SoMe platforms on increasing neurosurgery interest among aspiring African Neurosurgeons.

Methods: In this SoMe analysis, data on the type of publications, impressions, and reach from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube handles of the AFAN was collected from December 31, 2019, to September 11, 2020, and analyzed. Descriptive statistics were generated, the Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman’s correlation were used, and a P-value <0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results: The Facebook handle (7,002 followers) was the most followed, followed by the Twitter account (409 followers) and the YouTube channel (199 subscribers). The audience was mainly made up of Sub-Saharan Africans, individuals aged 25-34 years old with most being male and the majority using mobile phones to access the platforms. Photos and links generate more engagements among all post types while posts were mostly accessed during the weekend (P<0.001).

Conclusions: Aspiring African neurosurgeons have been effectively impacted by AFAN’s activities thanks to a tailored SoMe strategy from AFAN informed by SoMe analytics on AFAN SoMe visibility and engagement.