Challenges experienced by nutritionists in using Instagram as a medium for education and development of a balanced diet guideline: A qualitative study

In the last decade, we have observed an increasing interest in the Internet as source of information, especially social media has become a necessity in daily life. Healthcare professionals have found the potential of social media to provide accessible and enjoyable content for the audiences. Purpose of this study is evaluation of the challenges experienced by nutritionists in using Instagram as a popular medium for people education and development of nutritional guidelines in balanced diet.

In this qualitative descriptive study, three nutritionists which had Instagram account with more than twenty thousand followers were selected. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured online interviews. After recording the interviews and their transcribing, the concepts were extracted using a content analysis method.

Instagram is an audiovisual medium that is accessible and easy to use for the followers. It provides a social network for people around the world. However, our investigation revealed that there are a lot of incorrect myths on Instagram which should be administered by the specialists by development of educational programs and guidelines in their personal Instagram accounts. Although, the role of influencers having a large number of followers is prominent in this regard. What is important is that they should motivate the followers to actively interact and provide them with updated information about balanced diet to attract the audiences and keep them away from incorrect information provided by fake and non-professional accounts.