International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: Digital health influencers have become increasingly important sources of health information. One prominent Nigerian digital health communicator is Dr. Chinonso Egemba, popularly known as Aproko Doctor, whose content employs humour, storytelling, Pidgin English, relatable examples, and simplified explanations of medical issues. Despite the growing dissemination of health information online, empirical evidence on the relationship between exposure to digital health influencers’ content and awareness of health information such as kidney failure predisposing factors in Nigeria remains limited.
Objective: This study examined exposure to Aproko Doctor’s health content and awareness of kidney failure predisposing factors among residents of Enugu State.
Method: A descriptive survey design was adopted. The study targeted digitally active residents of Enugu State, with respondents drawn from Enugu metropolis, Nsukka, and the 9th Mile/Udi axis. Cochran’s formula yielded a target sample size of 385, while 290 valid questionnaires were retrieved and analysed. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages, and chi-square tests of independence at the 0.05 significance level. Results: Most respondents (89.7%) were familiar with Aproko Doctor’s health content. Facebook (55.2%) and Instagram (21.4%) were the main platforms through which respondents accessed the content. Awareness of selected causes, symptoms, and prevention measures relating to kidney failure was high. Familiarity with Aproko Doctor’s content was significantly associated with recognising symptoms popularly described as “ishi nsi” as medically explainable rather than spiritual (?² = 5.431, p = .020). Frequency of engagement was also significantly associated with reduced self-medication (?² = 10.168, p = .017). High data costs were the most frequently reported barrier to acting on digital health advice (45.9%). Educational level was not significantly associated with reported barriers (?² = 5.713, p = .768).
Conclusion: Exposure to Aproko Doctor’s content was high and associated with selected awareness and preventive health practice outcomes among the sampled digitally active residents. The findings support the strategic use of credible digital health communicators alongside conventional public health communication. However, the cross-sectional design does not establish causation.