JMIR infodemiology最新文献

{"title":"The Use of Natural Language Processing Methods in Reddit to Investigate Opioid Use: Scoping Review.","authors":"Alexandra Almeida, Thomas Patton, Mike Conway, Amarnath Gupta, Steffanie A Strathdee, Annick Bórquez","doi":"10.2196/51156","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2196/51156","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The growing availability of big data spontaneously generated by social media platforms allows us to leverage natural language processing (NLP) methods as valuable tools to understand the opioid crisis.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>We aimed to understand how NLP has been applied to Reddit (Reddit Inc) data to study opioid use.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We systematically searched for peer-reviewed studies and conference abstracts in PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, ACL Anthology, IEEE Xplore, and Association for Computing Machinery data repositories up to July 19, 2022. Inclusion criteria were studies investigating opioid use, using NLP techniques to analyze the textual corpora, and using Reddit as the social media data source. We were specifically interested in mapping studies' overarching goals and findings, methodologies and software used, and main limitations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 30 studies were included, which were classified into 4 nonmutually exclusive overarching goal categories: methodological (n=6, 20% studies), infodemiology (n=22, 73% studies), infoveillance (n=7, 23% studies), and pharmacovigilance (n=3, 10% studies). NLP methods were used to identify content relevant to opioid use among vast quantities of textual data, to establish potential relationships between opioid use patterns or profiles and contextual factors or comorbidities, and to anticipate individuals' transitions between different opioid-related subreddits, likely revealing progression through opioid use stages. Most studies used an embedding technique (12/30, 40%), prediction or classification approach (12/30, 40%), topic modeling (9/30, 30%), and sentiment analysis (6/30, 20%). The most frequently used programming languages were Python (20/30, 67%) and R (2/30, 7%). Among the studies that reported limitations (20/30, 67%), the most cited was the uncertainty regarding whether redditors participating in these forums were representative of people who use opioids (8/20, 40%). The papers were very recent (28/30, 93%), from 2019 to 2022, with authors from a range of disciplines.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This scoping review identified a wide variety of NLP techniques and applications used to support surveillance and social media interventions addressing the opioid crisis. Despite the clear potential of these methods to enable the identification of opioid-relevant content in Reddit and its analysis, there are limits to the degree of interpretive meaning that they can provide. Moreover, we identified the need for standardized ethical guidelines to govern the use of Reddit data to safeguard the anonymity and privacy of people using these forums.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142302674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of COVID-19 Illness and Vaccination Infodemic Through Mobile Health, Social Media, and Electronic Media on the Attitudes of Caregivers and Health Care Providers in Pakistan: Qualitative Exploratory Study.","authors":"Abdul Momin Kazi, Nazia Ahsan, Rawshan Jabeen, Raheel Allana, Saima Jamal, Muhammad Ayub Khan Mughal, Kathryn L Hopkins, Fauzia Aman Malik","doi":"10.2196/49366","DOIUrl":"10.2196/49366","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on different countries because of which various health and safety measures were implemented, with digital media playing a pivotal role. However, digital media also pose significant concerns such as misinformation and lack of direction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;We aimed to explore the effects of COVID-19-related infodemics through digital, social, and electronic media on the vaccine-related attitudes of caregivers and health care providers in Pakistan.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;This study employs a qualitative exploratory study design with purposive sampling strategies, and it was conducted at 3 primary health care facilities in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Seven focus group discussions with health care providers and 60 in-depth interviews with caregivers were conducted using semistructured interviews through virtual platforms (ConnectOnCall and Zoom). Transcripts were analyzed through thematic analysis.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Our study reveals the pivotal role of electronic media, mobile health (mHealth), and social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four major themes were identified: (1) sources of information on COVID-19 and its vaccination, (2) electronic media value and misleading communication, (3) mHealth leveraging and limitations during COVID-19, and (4) social media influence and barriers during COVID-19. Health care providers and caregivers reported that the common sources of information were electronic media and mHealth, followed by social media. Some participants also used global media for more reliable information related to COVID-19. mHealth solutions such as public awareness messages, videos, call ringtones, and helplines promoted COVID-19 prevention techniques and vaccine registration. However, the overwhelming influx of news and sociobehavioral narratives, including misinformation/disinformation through social media such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter, were found to be the primary enablers of vaccine-related infodemics. Electronic media and mHealth were utilized more widely to promote information and communication on the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination. However, social media and electronic media-driven infodemics were identified as the major factors for misinformation related to COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy. Further, we found a digital divide between the urban and rural populations, with the use of electronic media in rural settings and social media in urban settings.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;In a resource-constrained setting like Pakistan, the usage of mHealth, social media, and electronic media for information spread (both factual and mis/disinformation) related to COVID-19 and its vaccination had a significant impact on attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination. Based on the qualitative findings, we generated a model of digital communications and information dissemination to increase knowledge about CO","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11411225/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142134646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Descriptions of Scientific Evidence and Uncertainty of Unproven COVID-19 Therapies in US News: Content Analysis Study.","authors":"Sara Watson, Tyler J Benning, Alessandro R Marcon, Xuan Zhu, Timothy Caulfield, Richard R Sharp, Zubin Master","doi":"10.2196/51328","DOIUrl":"10.2196/51328","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Politicization and misinformation or disinformation of unproven COVID-19 therapies have resulted in communication challenges in presenting science to the public, especially in times of heightened public trepidation and uncertainty.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aims to examine how scientific evidence and uncertainty were portrayed in US news on 3 unproven COVID-19 therapeutics, prior to the development of proven therapeutics and vaccines.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a media analysis of unproven COVID-19 therapeutics in early 2020. A total of 479 discussions of unproven COVID-19 therapeutics (hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, and convalescent plasma) in traditional and online US news reports from January 1, 2020, to July 30, 2020, were systematically analyzed for theme, scientific evidence, evidence details and limitations, safety, efficacy, and sources of authority.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The majority of discussions included scientific evidence (n=322, 67%) although only 24% (n=116) of them mentioned publications. \"Government\" was the most frequently named source of authority for safety and efficacy claims on remdesivir (n=43, 35%) while \"expert\" claims were mostly mentioned for convalescent plasma (n=22, 38%). Most claims on hydroxychloroquine (n=236, 79%) were offered by a \"prominent person,\" of which 97% (n=230) were from former US President Trump. Despite the inclusion of scientific evidence, many claims of the safety and efficacy were made by nonexperts. Few news reports expressed scientific uncertainty in discussions of unproven COVID-19 therapeutics as limitations of evidence were infrequently included in the body of news reports (n=125, 26%) and rarely found in headlines (n=2, 2%) or lead paragraphs (n=9, 9%; P<.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These results highlight that while scientific evidence is discussed relatively frequently in news reports, scientific uncertainty is infrequently reported and rarely found in prominent headlines and lead paragraphs.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11393509/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ethical Considerations in Infodemic Management: Systematic Scoping Review.","authors":"Federico Germani, Giovanni Spitale, Sandra Varaidzo Machiri, Calvin Wai Loon Ho, Isabella Ballalai, Nikola Biller-Andorno, Andreas Alois Reis","doi":"10.2196/56307","DOIUrl":"10.2196/56307","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>During health emergencies, effective infodemic management has become a paramount challenge. A new era marked by a rapidly changing information ecosystem, combined with the widespread dissemination of misinformation and disinformation, has magnified the complexity of the issue. For infodemic management measures to be effective, acceptable, and trustworthy, a robust framework of ethical considerations is needed.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This systematic scoping review aims to identify and analyze ethical considerations and procedural principles relevant to infodemic management, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of these practices and increasing trust in stakeholders performing infodemic management practices with the goal of safeguarding public health.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The review involved a comprehensive examination of the literature related to ethical considerations in infodemic management from 2002 to 2022, drawing from publications in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Policy documents and relevant material were included in the search strategy. Papers were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria, and core thematic areas were systematically identified and categorized following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. We analyzed the literature to identify substantive ethical principles that were crucial for guiding actions in the realms of infodemic management and social listening, as well as related procedural ethical principles. In this review, we consider ethical principles that are extensively deliberated upon in the literature, such as equity, justice, or respect for autonomy. However, we acknowledge the existence and relevance of procedural practices, which we also consider as ethical principles or practices that, when implemented, enhance the efficacy of infodemic management while ensuring the respect of substantive ethical principles.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Drawing from 103 publications, the review yielded several key findings related to ethical principles, approaches, and guidelines for practice in the context of infodemic management. Community engagement, empowerment through education, and inclusivity emerged as procedural principles and practices that enhance the quality and effectiveness of communication and social listening efforts, fostering trust, a key emerging theme and crucial ethical principle. The review also emphasized the significance of transparency, privacy, and cybersecurity in data collection.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This review underscores the pivotal role of ethics in bolstering the efficacy of infodemic management. From the analyzed body of literature, it becomes evident that ethical considerations serve as essential instruments for cultivating trust and credibility while also facilitating the medium-term and long-term viability of infodemic management approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11393515/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Large Language Models Can Enable Inductive Thematic Analysis of a Social Media Corpus in a Single Prompt: Human Validation Study.","authors":"Michael S Deiner, Vlad Honcharov, Jiawei Li, Tim K Mackey, Travis C Porco, Urmimala Sarkar","doi":"10.2196/59641","DOIUrl":"10.2196/59641","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Manually analyzing public health-related content from social media provides valuable insights into the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of individuals, shedding light on trends and patterns that can inform public understanding, policy decisions, targeted interventions, and communication strategies. Unfortunately, the time and effort needed from well-trained human subject matter experts makes extensive manual social media listening unfeasible. Generative large language models (LLMs) can potentially summarize and interpret large amounts of text, but it is unclear to what extent LLMs can glean subtle health-related meanings in large sets of social media posts and reasonably report health-related themes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;We aimed to assess the feasibility of using LLMs for topic model selection or inductive thematic analysis of large contents of social media posts by attempting to answer the following question: Can LLMs conduct topic model selection and inductive thematic analysis as effectively as humans did in a prior manual study, or at least reasonably, as judged by subject matter experts?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;We asked the same research question and used the same set of social media content for both the LLM selection of relevant topics and the LLM analysis of themes as was conducted manually in a published study about vaccine rhetoric. We used the results from that study as background for this LLM experiment by comparing the results from the prior manual human analyses with the analyses from 3 LLMs: GPT4-32K, Claude-instant-100K, and Claude-2-100K. We also assessed if multiple LLMs had equivalent ability and assessed the consistency of repeated analysis from each LLM.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;The LLMs generally gave high rankings to the topics chosen previously by humans as most relevant. We reject a null hypothesis (P&lt;.001, overall comparison) and conclude that these LLMs are more likely to include the human-rated top 5 content areas in their top rankings than would occur by chance. Regarding theme identification, LLMs identified several themes similar to those identified by humans, with very low hallucination rates. Variability occurred between LLMs and between test runs of an individual LLM. Despite not consistently matching the human-generated themes, subject matter experts found themes generated by the LLMs were still reasonable and relevant.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;LLMs can effectively and efficiently process large social media-based health-related data sets. LLMs can extract themes from such data that human subject matter experts deem reasonable. However, we were unable to show that the LLMs we tested can replicate the depth of analysis from human subject matter experts by consistently extracting the same themes from the same data. There is vast potential, once better validated, for automated LLM-based real-time social listening for common and rare health condi","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11393503/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevalence of Health Misinformation on Social Media-Challenges and Mitigation Before, During, and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Literature Review.","authors":"Dhouha Kbaier, Annemarie Kane, Mark McJury, Ian Kenny","doi":"10.2196/38786","DOIUrl":"10.2196/38786","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;This scoping review accompanies our research study \"The Experience of Health Professionals With Misinformation and Its Impact on Their Job Practice: Qualitative Interview Study.\" It surveys online health misinformation and is intended to provide an understanding of the communication context in which health professionals must operate.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;Our objective was to illustrate the impact of social media in introducing additional sources of misinformation that impact health practitioners' ability to communicate effectively with their patients. In addition, we considered how the level of knowledge of practitioners mitigated the effect of misinformation and additional stress factors associated with dealing with outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that affect communication with patients.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;This study used a 5-step scoping review methodology following Arksey and O'Malley's methodology to map relevant literature published in English between January 2012 and March 2024, focusing on health misinformation on social media platforms. We defined health misinformation as a false or misleading health-related claim that is not based on valid evidence or scientific knowledge. Electronic searches were performed on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. We included studies on the extent and impact of health misinformation in social media, mitigation strategies, and health practitioners' experiences of confronting health misinformation. Our independent reviewers identified relevant articles for data extraction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Our review synthesized findings from 70 sources on online health misinformation. It revealed a consensus regarding the significant problem of health misinformation disseminated on social network platforms. While users seek trustworthy sources of health information, they often lack adequate health and digital literacies, which is exacerbated by social and economic inequalities. Cultural contexts influence the reception of such misinformation, and health practitioners may be vulnerable, too. The effectiveness of online mitigation strategies like user correction and automatic detection are complicated by malicious actors and politicization. The role of health practitioners in this context is a challenging one. Although they are still best placed to combat health misinformation, this review identified stressors that create barriers to their abilities to do this well. Investment in health information management at local and global levels could enhance their capacity for effective communication with patients.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;This scoping review underscores the significance of addressing online health misinformation, particularly in the postpandemic era. It highlights the necessity for a collaborative global interdisciplinary effort to ensure equitable access to accurate health information, thereby empowering hea","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11369541/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44781415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Collective Intelligence-Based Participatory COVID-19 Surveillance in Accra, Ghana: Pilot Mixed Methods Study.","authors":"Gifty Marley, Phyllis Dako-Gyeke, Prajwol Nepal, Rohini Rajgopal, Evelyn Koko, Elizabeth Chen, Kwabena Nuamah, Kingsley Osei, Hubertus Hofkirchner, Michael Marks, Joseph D Tucker, Rosalind Eggo, William Ampofo, Sean Sylvia","doi":"10.2196/50125","DOIUrl":"10.2196/50125","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Infectious disease surveillance is difficult in many low- and middle-income countries. Information market (IM)-based participatory surveillance is a crowdsourcing method that encourages individuals to actively report health symptoms and observed trends by trading web-based virtual \"stocks\" with payoffs tied to a future event.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a tailored IM surveillance system to monitor population-level COVID-19 outcomes in Accra, Ghana.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We designed and evaluated a prediction markets IM system from October to December 2021 using a mixed methods study approach. Health care workers and community volunteers aged ≥18 years living in Accra participated in the pilot trading. Participants received 10,000 virtual credits to trade on 12 questions on COVID-19-related outcomes. Payoffs were tied to the cost estimation of new and cumulative cases in the region (Greater Accra) and nationwide (Ghana) at specified future time points. Questions included the number of new COVID-19 cases, the number of people likely to get the COVID-19 vaccination, and the total number of COVID-19 cases in Ghana by the end of the year. Phone credits were awarded based on the tally of virtual credits left and the participant's percentile ranking. Data collected included age, occupation, and trading frequency. In-depth interviews explored the reasons and factors associated with participants' user journey experience, barriers to system use, and willingness to use IM systems in the future. Trading frequency was assessed using trend analysis, and ordinary least squares regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors associated with trading at least once.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 105 eligible participants invited, 21 (84%) traded at least once on the platform. Questions estimating the national-level number of COVID-19 cases received 13 to 19 trades, and obtaining COVID-19-related information mainly from television and radio was associated with less likelihood of trading (marginal effect: -0.184). Individuals aged <30 years traded 7.5 times more and earned GH ¢134.1 (US $11.7) more in rewards than those aged >30 years (marginal effect: 0.0135). Implementing the IM surveillance was feasible; all 21 participants who traded found using IM for COVID-19 surveillance acceptable. Active trading by friends with communal discussion and a strong onboarding process facilitated participation. The lack of bidirectional communication on social media and technical difficulties were key barriers.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Using an IM system for disease surveillance is feasible and acceptable in Ghana. This approach shows promise as a cost-effective source of information on disease trends in low- and middle-income countries where surveillance is underdeveloped, but further studies are needed to optimize its use.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11347900/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141972414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring How Youth Use TikTok for Mental Health Information in British Columbia: Semistructured Interview Study With Youth.","authors":"Roxanne Turuba, Willow Cormier, Rae Zimmerman, Nikki Ow, Marco Zenone, Yuri Quintana, Emily Jenkins, Shelly Ben-David, Alicia Raimundo, Alessandro R Marcon, Steve Mathias, Jo Henderson, Skye Barbic","doi":"10.2196/53233","DOIUrl":"10.2196/53233","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>TikTok (ByteDance) experienced a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way for people to interact with others, share experiences and thoughts related to the pandemic, and cope with ongoing mental health challenges. However, few studies have explored how youth use TikTok to learn about mental health.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aims to understand how youth used TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic to learn about mental health and mental health support.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Semistructured interviews were conducted with 21 youths (aged 12-24 years) living in British Columbia, Canada, who had accessed TikTok for mental health information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed using an inductive, data-driven approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 3 overarching themes were identified describing youth's experiences. The first theme centered on how TikTok gave youth easy access to mental health information and support, which was particularly helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic to curb the effects of social isolation and the additional challenges of accessing mental health services. The second theme described how the platform provided youth with connection, as it gave youth a safe space to talk about mental health and allowed them to feel seen by others going through similar experiences. This helped normalize and destigmatize conversations about mental health and brought awareness to various mental health conditions. Finally, the last theme focused on how this information led to action, such as trying different coping strategies, discussing mental health with peers and family, accessing mental health services, and advocating for themselves during medical appointments. Across the 3 themes, youth expressed having to be mindful of bias and misinformation, highlighting the barriers to identifying and reporting misinformation and providing individualized advice on the platform.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Findings suggest that TikTok can be a useful tool to increase mental health awareness, reduce stigma, and encourage youth to learn and address their mental health challenges while providing a source of peer connection and support. Simultaneously, TikTok can adversely impact mental health through repetitive exposure to mentally distressing content and misleading diagnosis and treatment information. Regulations against harmful content are needed to mitigate these risks and make TikTok safer for youth. Efforts should also be made to increase media and health literacy among youth so that they can better assess the information they consume online.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11259762/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141536137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analyzing Questions About Alcohol in Pregnancy Using Web-Based Forum Topics: Qualitative Content Analysis.","authors":"Nessie Felicia Frennesson, Julie Barnett, Youssouf Merouani, Angela Attwood, Luisa Zuccolo, Cheryl McQuire","doi":"10.2196/58056","DOIUrl":"10.2196/58056","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Prenatal alcohol exposure represents a substantial public health concern as it may lead to detrimental outcomes, including pregnancy complications and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Although UK national guidance recommends abstaining from alcohol if pregnant or planning a pregnancy, evidence suggests that confusion remains on this topic among members of the public, and little is known about what questions people have about consumption of alcohol in pregnancy outside of health care settings.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aims to assess what questions and topics are raised on alcohol in pregnancy on a web-based UK-based parenting forum and how these correspond to official public health guidelines with respect to 2 critical events: the implementation of the revised UK Chief Medical Officers' (CMO) low-risk drinking guidelines (2016) and the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown (2020).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>All thread starts mentioning alcohol in the \"Pregnancy\" forum were collected from Mumsnet for the period 2002 to 2022 and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the number and proportion of thread starts for each topic over the whole study period and for the periods corresponding to the change in CMO guidance and the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 395 thread starts were analyzed, and key topics included \"Asking for advice on whether it is safe to consume alcohol\" or on \"safe limits\" and concerns about having consumed alcohol before being aware of a pregnancy. In addition, the Mumsnet thread starts included discussions and information seeking on \"Research, guidelines, and official information about alcohol in pregnancy.\" Topics discussed on Mumsnet regarding alcohol in pregnancy remained broadly similar between 2002 and 2022, although thread starts disclosing prenatal alcohol use were more common before the introduction of the revised CMO guidance than in later periods.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Web-based discussions within a UK parenting forum indicated that users were often unclear on guidance and risks associated with prenatal alcohol use and that they used this platform to seek information and reassurance from peers.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11224699/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141428484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"TikTok as a Source of Health Information and Misinformation for Young Women in the United States: Survey Study.","authors":"Ciera E Kirkpatrick, LaRissa L Lawrie","doi":"10.2196/54663","DOIUrl":"10.2196/54663","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>TikTok is one of the most-used and fastest-growing social media platforms in the world, and recent reports indicate that it has become an increasingly popular source of news and information in the United States. These trends have important implications for public health because an abundance of health information exists on the platform. Women are among the largest group of TikTok users in the United States and may be especially affected by the dissemination of health information on TikTok. Prior research has shown that women are not only more likely to look for information on the internet but are also more likely to have their health-related behaviors and perceptions affected by their involvement with social media.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>We conducted a survey of young women in the United States to better understand their use of TikTok for health information as well as their perceptions of TikTok's health information and health communication sources.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A web-based survey of US women aged 18 to 29 years (N=1172) was conducted in April-May 2023. The sample was recruited from a Qualtrics research panel and 2 public universities in the United States.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results indicate that the majority of young women in the United States who have used TikTok have obtained health information from the platform either intentionally (672/1026, 65.5%) or unintentionally (948/1026, 92.4%). Age (959/1026, 93.47%; r=0.30; P<.001), education (959/1026, 93.47%; ρ=0.10; P=.001), and TikTok intensity (ie, participants' emotional connectedness to TikTok and TikTok's integration into their daily lives; 959/1026, 93.47%; r=0.32; P<.001) were positively correlated with overall credibility perceptions of the health information. Nearly the entire sample reported that they think that misinformation is prevalent on TikTok to at least some extent (1007/1026, 98.15%), but a third-person effect was found because the young women reported that they believe that other people are more susceptible to health misinformation on TikTok than they personally are (t₁₀₂₅=21.16; P<.001). Both health professionals and general users were common sources of health information on TikTok: 93.08% (955/1026) of the participants indicated that they had obtained health information from a health professional, and 93.86% (963/1026) indicated that they had obtained health information from a general user. The respondents showed greater preference for health information from health professionals (vs general users; t₁₀₂₅=23.75; P<.001); the respondents also reported obtaining health information from health professionals more often than from general users (t₁₀₂₅=8.13; P<.001), and they were more likely to act on health information from health professionals (vs general users; t₁₀₂₅=12.74; P<.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings suggest that health professi","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11150891/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141077350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}