Social media and palliative medicine: a retrospective 2-year analysis of global Twitter data to evaluate the use of technology to communicate about issues at the end of life



Nwosu, Amara Callistus ORCID: 0000-0003-0014-3741, Debattista, Maria, Rooney, Claire and Mason, Stephen ORCID: 0000-0002-4020-6869
(2015) Social media and palliative medicine: a retrospective 2-year analysis of global Twitter data to evaluate the use of technology to communicate about issues at the end of life. BMJ SUPPORTIVE & PALLIATIVE CARE, 5 (2). pp. 207-212.

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Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>Social media describes technological applications which are used to exchange information in a virtual environment. The use of social media is increasing, in professional and social contexts, on a variety of platforms such as Twitter; however, the scope and breadth of its use to discuss end-of-life care has not previously been reported.<h4>Aims</h4>To determine the frequency, sentiment and trend of Twitter 'tweets' containing palliative care-related identifiers (hashtags) and/or phrases sent by users over a 2-year period.<h4>Methods</h4>A 2-year retrospective analysis of Twitter posts (tweets), between the 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2013, using a social media analytics tool: TopsyPro. Thirteen search terms were identified and analysed for tweet volume, frequency, sentiment and acceleration.<h4>Results</h4>A total of 683.5K tweets containing a combination of 13 palliative care terms were analysed. The tweet volume for all terms increased by 62.3% between 2011-2012 (262.5K) and 2012-2013 (421K). The most popular terms include 'end-of-life' (210K), #hpm (114K) and 'palliative care' (93.8K). Sentiment was high with 89% of tweets rated more positive than all other tweets sent on Twitter during this period. The term 'Liverpool Care Pathway' experienced the highest percentage increase in tweets (55% increase) reaching a peak in July 2013.<h4>Conclusions</h4>A lot of discussion about palliative care is taking place on Twitter, and the majority of this is positive. Social media presents a novel opportunity for engagement and ongoing dialogue with public and professional groups.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Humans, Palliative Care, Terminal Care, Retrospective Studies, Health Communication, Social Media
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 16 Aug 2016 15:22
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 07:32
DOI: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2014-000701
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3002965