Abstract
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic saw the involvement of many health non-governmental organisations (NGO) with volunteering work to help reduce the burden of healthcare workers (HCW). IMAM Response and Relief Team (IMARET) is one which is a chapter under the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM); which is also under the umbrella of the Federations of Islamic Medical Associations (FIMA). IMARET often aids HCWs during natural and manmade disasters to help reduce their burden during challenging times by providing manpower, equipment, and logistical assistance. IMARET utilizes social media (SM) for spreading information on their activities to the public, like the COVID-19 fundraising efforts. The objective of this research is to determine the correlation between their Facebook activities and fundraising outcome. Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional study of Facebook posts and its engagement with Billplz, an online payment platform focused during the initial COVID-19 fundraising effort. Results and Discussion: During the study period, we report 346 Facebook posts with a median (IQR) of 8.00 (6.00,9.00) posts per day. As many as 4,823 donations, median (IQR) at RM34.50(18.75,86.00) was received per day. RM3425,50 (USD 830.52) (1369.00, 8376.25) was collected per day. ‘Organic Likes’ correlated significantly with the number of donations (r=0.419,p=0.006) and amount received (r=0.355,p=0.021). Both ‘Post Reach’ and ‘Shares’ significantly correlated with the number of donations (r=0.405,p=0.008)(r=0.515,p<0.01)and amount received (r=0.373,p=0.015) (r=0.453,p=0.003) respectively. Conclusion: The number of likes, reach and shares significantly correlated with the number and amount of donations received during the initial phase of the IMARET COVID-19 fundraising effort Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.20(5) 2021 p.148-154
Highlights
Social media (SM) is recognised as one of the ways to engage a large audience with various topics, including matters related to health 1
This study aims to analyze the correlation between Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM) Response and Relief Team (IMARET) Facebook’s posts activities and fundraising efforts on an online fundraising platform focusing on the COVID-19 fundraising effort
In a study to investigate the factors associated with good engagement rates among internet users on the FB page of Ministry of Health Malaysia, where 2123 posts were selected, and data was gathered from FB insights, significant positive engagement was observed with video posts, afternoon posts and posts made after office hours 23
Summary
Social media (SM) is recognised as one of the ways to engage a large audience with various topics, including matters related to health 1. 11–13 At this time, there was quite a burden on the healthcare system whereby there was a lack of manpower due to the heavy burden on the healthcare system, lack of much needed medical equipment, and its impact on the economy especially those in the lower income who could not work during the MCO, including those in quarantine 11 During this time, there has been an increase in the use of online activity such as working from home, online learning shopping and acquiring new hobbies . In March of 2020, IMARET launched its COVID- 19 fundraising efforts on SM: one of the social media platforms being Facebook The objective of this campaign was to raise funds to i) mobilize volunteers in areas in need to assist our dedicated front liners, ii) providing much-needed medical supplies and equipment, and iii) reaching out to the community, especially families affected by quarantine. This study aims to analyze the correlation between IMARET Facebook’s posts activities and fundraising efforts on an online fundraising platform focusing on the COVID-19 fundraising effort
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
