Understanding Patient Experiences of Vulvodynia Through Reddit: Qualitative Analysis.

IF 3.5 Q1 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES
JMIR infodemiology Pub Date : 2025-03-06 DOI:10.2196/63072
Aurora J Grutman, Sara Perelmuter, Abigail Perez, Janine Meurer, Monica Contractor, Eva Mathews, Katie Shearer, Lindsey A Burnett, Maria Uloko
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Vulvodynia is a chronic vulvar pain condition affecting up to 25% of the US population. However, diagnosis and effective treatment remain elusive. Many individuals with vulvodynia face stigma and medical uncertainty, leading them to seek information and web-based support. Reddit is a popular social media platform where patients share health concerns and experiences. The anonymity and accessibility of this platform make it a valuable source of real-world patient perspectives that are often overlooked in clinical settings.

Objective: This study evaluated Reddit content related to vulvodynia to explore how individuals with vulvodynia describe their symptoms, treatments, and personal experiences.

Methods: The subreddits "r/vulvodynia" and "r/vestibulodynia" were selected for analysis in May 2023. Threads were sorted from the most popular to least popular, with "popularity" measured by upvotes. Opening threads from the top 70 posts in each subreddit were extracted and analyzed using inductive qualitative analysis to identify themes and sentiment analysis to evaluate attitudes.

Results: In May 2023, the "r/vulvodynia" and "r/vestibulodynia" subreddits had a total of 7930 members (7245 and 685 members, respectively). Out of 140 analyzed threads, 77 (55%) contained negative attitudes. A total of 50 (35.7%) threads were seeking information or advice and 90 (64.3%) included some form of peer support. Inductive thematic analysis identified 6 core themes: symptoms (n=86, 61.4%), treatments (n=83, 59.3%), sexuality (n=47, 33.6%), erasure or disbelief (n=38, 27.1%), representation or media (n=17, 12.1%), and humor (n=15, 10.7%). Threads that discussed treatments (48/83, 57.8%), sexual experiences (25/47, 53.2%), and representation (14/17, 82.4%) had the highest proportions of positive attitudes, while threads that touched on erasure (21/38, 55.3%), symptoms (51/86, 59.3%), and humor (12/15, 80%), had the highest proportion of negative attitudes. A multivariable logistic regression of valence on the themes revealed that posts referring to treatments (odds ratio 12.5, 95% CI 3.7-42.2; P<.001) or representation (odds ratio 21.2, 95% CI 4.2-106.0; P<.001) were associated with significantly increased odds of positive valence. Furthermore, it was noted that 3 of the 5 most frequently discussed treatments aligned with clinical guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Urological Association, and International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease. Despite this alignment, threads frequently mentioned alternative remedies and frustration with medical professionals related to diagnostic delays and perceived lack of understanding.

Conclusions: This is the first study of Reddit discussions about vulvodynia. Findings suggest a gap between patient experiences and provider understanding, underscoring the need for improved patient education and greater clinician awareness of psychosocial factors in vulvodynia care. While limited by its sample size and lack of demographic data, this study highlights how web-based communities can help identify ways health care providers can better meet patient needs and how patients mutually support each other.

通过Reddit了解患者外阴痛的经历:定性分析。
背景:外阴痛是一种慢性外阴疼痛状况,影响高达25%的美国人口。然而,诊断和有效治疗仍然难以捉摸。许多外阴痛患者面临耻辱和医疗不确定性,导致他们寻求信息和基于网络的支持。Reddit是一个流行的社交媒体平台,患者在这里分享健康问题和经验。该平台的匿名性和可访问性使其成为临床环境中经常被忽视的现实世界患者观点的宝贵来源。目的:本研究评估Reddit上与外阴痛相关的内容,探讨外阴痛患者如何描述他们的症状、治疗方法和个人经历。方法:于2023年5月选取“r/vulvodynia”和“r/vestibulodynia”进行分析。这些帖子从最受欢迎到最不受欢迎排序,“受欢迎程度”是通过赞数来衡量的。从reddit每个子版块的前70个帖子中提取并使用归纳定性分析来确定主题和情感分析来评估态度。结果:2023年5月,“r/vulvodynia”和“r/vestibulodynia”子reddit共有7930名成员(分别为7245名和685名)。在140条被分析的帖子中,77条(55%)包含负面态度。总共有50个(35.7%)帖子寻求信息或建议,90个(64.3%)帖子包括某种形式的同伴支持。归纳主题分析确定了6个核心主题:症状(n=86, 61.4%)、治疗(n=83, 59.3%)、性(n=47, 33.6%)、抹杀或不相信(n=38, 27.1%)、表现或媒介(n=17, 12.1%)和幽默(n=15, 10.7%)。讨论治疗(48/83,57.8%)、性经历(25/47,53.2%)和表现(14/17,82.4%)的帖子中,积极态度的比例最高,而涉及擦除(21/38,55.3%)、症状(51/86,59.3%)和幽默(12/15,80%)的帖子中,消极态度的比例最高。主题效价的多变量逻辑回归显示,帖子涉及治疗(优势比12.5,95% CI 3.7-42.2;结论:这是Reddit上关于外阴痛讨论的第一项研究。研究结果表明,患者经验和医生的理解之间存在差距,强调需要改善患者教育和提高临床医生对外阴痛护理中心理社会因素的认识。虽然受样本量和人口统计数据的限制,这项研究强调了基于网络的社区如何帮助确定卫生保健提供者更好地满足患者需求的方式,以及患者如何相互支持。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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CiteScore
4.80
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