There is a reason my handle is named "Aproko Doctor"

While I was in medical school, a lot of patients kept coming back to the hospitals in worse states. One reason; they do not understand the urgency of their conditions even after listening to the doctor's advice https://twitter.com/TheLotaChukwu/status/1259757961620185090

I took it upon my self to prevent people from coming to the hospital. How? By educating them

I started this 5 years ago, in my own small way using digital media, I wrote articles, filled with medical jargon and the rest. Little people would read, very few would understand

I had to realize that I was not talking to the medical community, if they could not understand it, then I was not helping and I really wanted to help.

So I avoided the use of jargon at all and adopted everyday language.

Some like yourself said I sounded dumb and uninformed

I knew what I was here for, to reduce the burden of disease in Africa using media as a tool and one way to achieve that was to cause some behavioural change

The audience: Everyday people, people who didn't understand the health blogs.

As I said, I have been at this business of health education and behavioural change for 5 years and here is what I've learnt:

People do not really learn or retain the information until there is some sort of emotion involved.

I chose humour.

We remember skits, movies that tug at our heartstrings because of the emotions.

I chose Aproko Doctor, name means: One who does not mind his business, it made me relatable. Not the doctor in a white coat, but the one that gets under your skin and makes you drop a bad habit

Unconventional? Yes
Effective? Yes.

I faced a lot of criticism, first from the medical community
"According to them, my time was better spent in a hospital attending to patients, so I found a way to do both.

It took sacrifice, and I almost stopped at some point

Why you are put off, you alone can tell,

ONly buttresses the fact that I am not here for people like you, you don't need me, there are people who do and they do not feel put off. They appreciate it because their lives have been changed and they lead healthier lives as a result

I read the replies and they have never been further from the truth

Clout? It doesn't feed me. It takes sacrifice to do what I do daily.
I have helped thousands of people

These off-putting threads have saved at least 4 infants on this same app, babies who might be dead

They have helped people become more confident in handling some minor emergencies at home.

Thousands more are health literate now than they ever have been. The question is why does this method work?

My patients who know me can never use the word "condescending to describe me"

I have connected with a community of people I can joke with, you are not part of them apparently, I enjoy interacting with them and ensuring they get the message. I speak as their friend, not as a white coat doctor

That is more effective.

Cheers

This is just me doing the same thing in video format.