POS0986-PARE IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS ON RMD IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

Abstract

BackgroundPanama’s prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis lies within the global range (.24 to 1%). To improve the quality of life of RMD patients in the country, FUNARP was created over 18 years ago to educate and support patients, caregivers, and civil.FUNARP decided to focus its efforts on digital campaigns since 2020 taking advantage of its coverage, low costs, and ease of usage. Further, the mobile penetration of Panama is 136% of its population [1] making social media the best distribution channel for this purpose.ObjectivesTo expand educational coverage, especially for those with limited mobility or living in hard-to-reach areas. Another objective is to measure the effectiveness of digital media campaigns (paid vs organic growth), as well as to identify the most effective social network for these purposes.MethodsSocial media campaigns complement FUNARP’s annual education plan which consists of monthly onsite and virtual lectures/seminars. The educational approach is based on the physician’s perspective and the patient’s experience. The campaigns consist of a mixed scheme: selected ad investment and in-house content creation; and full-fledged campaigns with professional content development and paid ads. In 2022, a total of five campaigns were launched following this process: a) selection of the campaign theme, b) professional advice on content, c) sponsorship, d) hiring of the marketing agency, e) approval of design and publications, and f) analysis of results to the board of directors and sponsors.Results“Early Diagnosis and Motivation to Consult a Rheumatology Specialist” was the most successful campaign - developed by a marketing agency with videos supporting the message, and paid ads on both Instagram and Facebook, see Figure 1. Salient results: 110,488 accounts reached and 25,975 interactions, see Table 1.Figure 1.Best performing campaign.Campaigns with professional content creation and paid ads in social media ads had more than 50% reach and 90% interaction than the ones without them. Videos have a higher acceptance vs. static images, see Table 1:Table 1.Salient KPI of social media campaigns in 2022 (reach vs. engagement)Qualitative results have been observed by rheumatologists who have indicated that patients who have had access to information from our foundation are more informed and involved in their treatment. They perceive that these patients have a better quality of life compared to those who do not have access to information about their pathology.ConclusionWorking with marketing companies, and rheumatologists, as well as investing in advertising directly influences the effectiveness of health awareness and literacy campaigns. Publications where real patients appear as protagonists had higher acceptance vs. those with stack images and videos, or models. Instagram appears to have a better impact than Facebook.The early diagnosis campaign managed to overcrowd first-time consultations with rheumatologists in the public health system (less than 20 rheumatologists for a 4.2 MM population in Panama). FUNARP observed an increase in requests for information and orientation in the navigability of the system to obtain care with rheumatologists and advice on various health issues from the community through social media messaging services.FUNARP will continue to conduct digital campaigns to expand the educational coverage of the Panamanian population. It is recommended to have advertising investments of more than U.S.$100.00 per publication of each campaign and to have content generated by specialists and advertising agencies. In addition, sponsorship will continue to be sought to increase literacy in patients with RMD.For the next campaigns, the WhatsApp button will be made available to easily address requests and questions from the community. A marketing and advertising commission has been created within FUNARP to keep more detailed metrics and measure other variables in the campaigns that have not been measured so far.Reference[1]Panamanian Public Services Authority 2022Acknowledgements:NIL.Disclosure of InterestsEnma Pinzon Grant/research support from: Abbvie, Roche, Sandoz, Luris Higuera: None declared.