Assessing WhatsApp Community Groups as Informal Health Communication Channels for Primary Healthcare Communication in Osun and Kwara States, Nigeria

Abstract

This is a descriptive-analytical narrative review exploring the use of WhatsApp community groups to disseminate primary healthcare information and strengthen utilization of primary healthcare services in Osun and Kwara States. It makes a case for using WhatsApp-based health communication to improve community engagement and health information dissemination, while also highlighting the challenges of misinformation, digital literacy, information trustworthiness, and user privacy. Using a narrative review methodology, the authors developed a critical synthesis of literature on WhatsApp in Health communication, primary healthcare service delivery, digital health, and community ICT use, selecting materials relevant to the study objectives. The review emphasizes the neglect of community-based digital forums in primary healthcare communication in Nigeria, data cost, privacy concerns, and makes recommendations on integrated WhatsApp health communication, stakeholder collaboration, digital literacy, ethical use, health-worker training, information validation, localized messaging, and research.