In the midst of a pandemic, a group of IMU Biomedical Science students from BM119 continues to strive and use social media to raise awareness on a real-world issue that still matters. The pandemic has certainly caused more people to be more stressed and the likelihood of substance abuse would increase.
Together with IMU Cares, they conducted a 3-week E-Awareness Campaign on Substance Abuse in hope of educating, raising awareness and sharing integrated information and perspectives from various experts about substance abuse.
Throughout the 3 weeks, they have touched on 3 major topics in relation to substance abuse: Smoking, Recreational Drugs and Alcoholism. An Instagram account was started for this initiative gaining a total of 160 followers.
| Week | Main Topic | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Smoking | This includes history of cigarettes, biological explanation on addiction in cigarettes, a psychologist’s view on smoking and information on nicotine replacement therapy |
| Week 2 | Recreational Drugs | Interesting information that was shared includes the society’s influence on drug use, fun facts about recreational drug use, biological explanation on how drugs affect our brain, different types of recreational drugs, coping skills for substance abuse and addiction, a doctor’s insight on drug abuse and some movie recommendation on substance use related topics. |
| Week 3 | Alcoholism | General information, interesting facts, student’s opinion on alcohol consumption, a psychologist’s insight on alcoholism and coping skills to quit alcohol were discussed. |
Through this awareness campaign, the students were able to broaden their horizon and perspectives on challenges faced by young adults in substance abuse and addiction. Furthermore, with social media being the key to the new norm, the students have gained new skills on social media marketing and graphic materials production.
Project Team Members Brianna, Adlin Sofea Binti Alauddin, Chia Kiat Fatt, Muhammad Nooraiman Zufayri Mohd Noor, Hannah Wai Ruen, Adrinna Yee Weng Lum, Pavitra Murthy, Alyssa Boey Ya Zhi, Sylvia Chong Hoongli, and Priesha A/P Manindran
Personal Reflections from Project Team
- “It was a very memorable experience, organising an E-Awareness Campaign with an amazing team. I enjoyed the planning process and learnt a great deal during our project, especially on social media marketing and substance abuse.”
- “I truly appreciated the scope of this project on substance abuse especially in this trying time in the pandemic. By going through each post before putting it up on instagram, I gain some new knowledge, insights and understanding on how I can help people struggling with the same issue.”
- “This project was a whole new territory for me as I have never conducted or participated in an E-campaign. As a group, we had the challenge of coming up with engaging topics and activities to make the campaign an enjoyable form of education for people.”
- “This project has opened my eyes through the dangers of substance abuse, and I hope that this campaign had a similar effect on others as well.”
- “By being a part of this project, I have not only widened my knowledge on substance abuse, but I’ve also had the chance to work on my communication skills and time management. I’ve also had the opportunity to learn on operating as a good team player.”
