Britt, RebeccaBoman, CourtneyRitchart, AmyVandyke, Matthew2024-12-262024-12-262025-01-07978-0-9981331-8-8b4de3834-9439-4604-b351-536edd3b8e69https://hdl.handle.net/10125/109289This 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.10Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 InternationalSocial Media and Healthcare Technologyenvironmental health; health crisis, health and risk communication; social media; computational analysisConference Paper10.24251/HICSS.2025.445