Evaluation the COVID-19 related posts of the Official Facebook Page of the World Health Organization

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to analyze the COVID-19-related posts on the official Facebook page of the World Health Organization (WHO). Specifically, we aim to evaluate the engagement metrics such as views, comments, shares, and reactions received by categorized posts. Additionally, we seek to identify the topics that generate the highest levels of engagement in terms of comments and sharing reactions. Material and Methods: This retrospective observational research project was designed to evaluate COVID-19-related posts on the official WHO Facebook Page between March 15, 2020, and March 15 2021. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0. Result: 2021 COVID-19-related posts on the Official Facebook Page of the WHO (n=877) were examined. 23.7% of the shares were about protective equipment, 22.2% were about the pandemic, 12.6% were about personal protective equipment, 11.5% were about social distancing, and 10.3% were media briefings. It was observed that they were about COVID-19??, 9.9% were about syndemic, 6.5% were about vaccine, 1.9% were about medicine, 0.9% were about mutation. An examination of posts related to drugs, vaccines, and media briefings revealed that the most prevalent response was 'like'. Statistical analysis indicated that the number of 'like' reactions was significantly higher for vaccine-related posts compared to non-vaccine related posts. Conversely, the number of angry reactions was lower for vaccine-related posts than for non-vaccine related posts. Conclusion: This study provides valuable insights into the engagement patterns of COVID-19-related posts on the official Facebook page of the World Health Organization (WHO). Our analysis highlights the prevalence of topics such as protective equipment, the pandemic, personal protective equipment, social distancing, and media briefings among the examined posts. Notably, vaccine-related posts garnered a significantly higher number of 'like' reactions compared to non-vaccine related posts, underscoring the importance of vaccine-related communication efforts. These findings emphasize the significance of accurate and informative content dissemination by authoritative institutions like the WHO during global health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.