Social Media and Healthcare Technology
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Item Ripple Effects of Mapping Environmental Health Tweets: Influences on Public Health(2025-01-07) Britt, Rebecca; Boman, Courtney; Ritchart, Amy; Vandyke, MatthewThis study used a computational exploratory approach to examine X discourse on health and water sanitation challenges in a rural region in the United States, comparing them with global contexts. The research aimed to identify key themes influencing significant public health concerns and to propose potential interventions. Two primary research questions examined the specific water-related issues in the region and their global implications. The dataset consisted of 12,472 observations analyzed through computational text analysis. The findings revealed that discussions in the Black Belt region primarily focused on a limited set of issues, whereas global conversations emphasized community-level problems and the widespread public nature of these concerns, despite their public-facing nature in both contexts. This study contributes valuable insights to the understanding of social media dialogues as environmental health challenges evolve into broader global health risks.Item HPV Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural America and Exploring Artificial-Intelligence Interventions(2025-01-07) Argyris, Young; Nelson, Victoria; Kwon, Kyungeun; Kim, Yongsuk; Lehto, Georgia; Tan, Pang-NingThis study illuminates human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine hesitancy in rural America and explores the potential of using chatbot-enabled social media interventions. The results from our nationally representative survey among US parents of adolescents (n = 1,196) show the differences in HPV vaccine uptake between rural, suburban, and urban areas. Our results indicate that rural parents' hesitancy in initializing or continuing the HPV vaccine regimen with their children appears to be a result of a lack of knowledge about the necessity, safety, and efficacy of the vaccine. Chatbots with natural language processing abilities are proposed to educate rural parents about the preventive benefits of HPV vaccines and alleviate their hesitancy. With the increasing broadband Internet connectivity in rural communities, chatbots can create effective and economical interventions. The opportunities created by chatbots, their integration into the existing clinical workflow for vaccine deliveries, and their benefits to healthcare providers are discussed.Item Digitally Empowered: A Virtual Health Community as a Space for Support and Conversations(2025-01-07) Sethibe, Tsholofelo; Abedin, Babak; Marjanovic, OliveraThis paper proposes the phenomenon of ‘digital empowerment’ and positions the research in the context of virtual health communities (VHCs) of informal carers. The proposed theorisation explains how the use of VHCs enhances user empowerment. In addition, the paper considers the effect of facilitation on digital empowerment of carers to enable their daily decision making. The study adopts a qualitative approach. A content analysis was performed on VHC discussions to explore the impact of VHCs on digital empowerment. Results demonstrate that digital empowerment exists in VHCs and is identified by the affective dimension in addition to the well-documented intrapersonal, interactional and behavioural dimensions of empowerment. Findings also show that the use of a VHC, facilitated by moderators, determines the type of facilitation (commanding, collaborative or motivating), and the approach used varied according to the user request.Item Media Technology Usage and Health: The Role of Athlete Identity and Achievement Goals(2025-01-07) Yoo, Taewoong; Chang, YonghwanThis study investigates the sequential mediation effects of athlete identity, athletic achievement goals, and media technology use on health among university students. Utilizing path analysis on data collected from 333 participants via an online survey, the findings reveal significant paths between athlete identity and both mastery and performance goals. These goals influence media usage, with mastery goals linked to lower internet and social media use, and performance goals associated with higher engagement across various platforms. Media usage, in turn, impacts health and eating behaviors, with significant associations found between internet use and lower depression, computer use and higher depression and lower self-esteem, and online friendships fostering better overall health and healthy eating. These insights highlight the intricate dynamics between personal identity, motivational goals, and digital behavior, offering implications for targeted interventions to promote healthier lifestyles among athletes and the general student population.Item Introduction to the Minitrack on Social Media and Healthcare Technology(2025-01-07) Bock, Beth; Braciszewski, Jordan; Argyris, YoungItem Assessing the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Novel Parent-Based Intervention for Mitigating Social Media Influence on Adolescent Alcohol Consumption(2025-01-07) Litt, Dana; Lewis, MelissaParent-based interventions (PBIs) are efficacious in addressing adolescent alcohol use. One major limitation of PBIs is that they do not consider the role of social media on adolescent alcohol use. The present study aimed to establish process and management feasibility and acceptability of an interactive PBI that includes the role of social media in association with adolescent alcohol use. Parent-adolescent dyads (N = 101; age 15-20) were either randomly assigned to the novel PBI or treatment as usual. All participants completed baseline, 1-month, and 6-month surveys. Process feasibility was high as evidenced by ability to successfully recruit and enroll dyads and high retention rates (over 80% at 6-month follow up for both parents and adolescents). Among those who received the PBI, management feasibility was high with a range of 0-41 PBI visits. The PBI was overwhelmingly acceptable with 90% and 96% of parents and adolescents assigned to receive the PBI, respectively, recommending other families participate. Further, among those assigned to PBI, 84% and 77% of parents and adolescents, respectively, indicated they would participate again outside of a paid study. In addition, 80% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that the program was useful, relevant, and helped them communicate with their adolescents. Additional metrics of acceptability were also high. Preliminary feasibility and acceptability results are promising and suggest the need for fully-powered trials to test the efficacy of the social media and alcohol PBI.Item Latent Subtypes of Comorbidities in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Insights from Social Media(2025-01-07) Gorugantu, Laxmi Manasa; Nawar, Nevine; El-Gayar, OmarMultiple Sclerosis is a chronic neurological disease associated with various physical and cognitive impairments. Individuals with MS might also experience medical and psychiatric comorbidities that can exacerbate the severity of the disease and lower their overall well-being. Therefore, it becomes essential to identify these co-occurring health conditions at the early stages to optimize treatment and improve patient outcomes. Consequently, the objective of this study is to explore the commonly occurring comorbidities among MS patients around the globe from social media discourse. Furthermore, it aims to unveil public perceptions, providing insights that might not be captured via clinical research methods. The results indicate that psychiatric and autoimmune comorbidities are the most prevalent, whereas visual disorders are the least common among MS patients. Understating such patterns can help prioritize and guide interventions aimed at tailoring MS comorbidity management strategies to address the specific needs of MS patients.