BACKGROUND AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES: Adolescents With Hearing Impairments (AWHI) face unique barriers to receiving tobacco health education, making it crucial to explore innovative interventions that leverage their preferred communication methods. Therefore, this educational intervention is designed for AWHI-registered users of at least one social media platform in Oyo State, Nigeria.
INTERVENTION OR RESPONSE: A total of 312 AWHI from 167 communities were administered a screening form using a snowball sampling technique. Among these, 65 (21.4%) participants who reported currently consuming tobacco were selected for this intervention. A semi-structured questionnaire was then used to obtain baseline information from the 61 (93.8%) consented participants on tobacco knowledge and smoking practices. The baseline outcome was used in developing a training curriculum, and participants were trained through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp for 4 weeks. Participants were followed up for six months, and the intervention was evaluated at 3 and 6 months. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and the Chi-square test.
RESULTS AND IMPACT: Mean age of participants was 24.3 ± 5.6 years, and 77.9% were currently in secondary education. All (100.0%) have a Facebook account, Whatsapp (100.0%), Instagram (83.9%), and X (26.1%). Respondents with good knowledge of tobacco increased from 15.6% to 79.9% within three months and 89.1% after six months. Reported tobacco smoking daily practices reduced to 62.1% within three months and 29.4% after six months. At baseline, 18.1% and 24.7% of the participants considered themselves at risk of lung cancer and heart disease, and after six months, this increased to 67.9% and 76.9% for lung cancer and heart disease.
CONCLUSIONS: The participants demonstration of a remarkable improvement in their understanding of tobacco-related health risks and reduction in daily smoking practices illustrates the intervention's effectiveness in prompting behaviour change. Incorporating social media strategies into public health campaigns could enhance outreach and effectiveness, especially among the hearing-impaired population.