Post Your Journey: Instagram as a Support Community for People With Fibromyalgia

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley A. Berard ◽  
André P. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Widespread Pain ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Media Applications

Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness with primary symptoms of widespread pain and fatigue. Social media applications have become a recent resource allowing individuals with fibromyalgia to interact in a virtual community devoted to the illness. This study explores how such a community develops and maintains itself on Instagram and the ways it creates social capital for its users. Data are derived from Instagram posts and open-ended questionnaires completed by users living with fibromyalgia who use the application. Using content analysis and semiotic methodology, the study analyzes the diverse ways in which users shared their experiences with fibromyalgia, the management of its symptoms, and issues encountered in accessing health care systems. Instagram aids in the development of a community by facilitating intimate and supportive interactions about the illness and the creation of personalized day-to-day narratives accessible to all. Norms of trust, acceptance, and reciprocity characterize the diversity of interactions in this community.

scholarly journals Mining Physicians’ Opinions on Social Media to Obtain Insights Into COVID-19: Mixed Methods Analysis

10.2196/19276 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. e19276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Wahbeh ◽  
Tareq Nasralah ◽  
Mohammad Al-Ramahi ◽  
Omar El-Gayar
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Supervised Machine Learning ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Care Systems

Background The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is considered to be the most daunting public health challenge in decades. With no effective treatments and with time needed to develop a vaccine, alternative approaches are being used to control this pandemic. Objective The objective of this paper was to identify topics, opinions, and recommendations about the COVID-19 pandemic discussed by medical professionals on the Twitter social medial platform. Methods Using a mixed methods approach blending the capabilities of social media analytics and qualitative analysis, we analyzed COVID-19–related tweets posted by medical professionals and examined their content. We used qualitative analysis to explore the collected data to identify relevant tweets and uncover important concepts about the pandemic using qualitative coding. Unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques and text analysis were used to identify topics and opinions. Results Data were collected from 119 medical professionals on Twitter about the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 10,096 English tweets were collected from the identified medical professionals between December 1, 2019 and April 1, 2020. We identified eight topics, namely actions and recommendations, fighting misinformation, information and knowledge, the health care system, symptoms and illness, immunity, testing, and infection and transmission. The tweets mainly focused on needed actions and recommendations (2827/10,096, 28%) to control the pandemic. Many tweets warned about misleading information (2019/10,096, 20%) that could lead to infection of more people with the virus. Other tweets discussed general knowledge and information (911/10,096, 9%) about the virus as well as concerns about the health care systems and workers (909/10,096, 9%). The remaining tweets discussed information about symptoms associated with COVID-19 (810/10,096, 8%), immunity (707/10,096, 7%), testing (605/10,096, 6%), and virus infection and transmission (503/10,096, 5%). Conclusions Our findings indicate that Twitter and social media platforms can help identify important and useful knowledge shared by medical professionals during a pandemic.

scholarly journals Mining Physicians’ Opinions on Social Media to Obtain Insights Into COVID-19: Mixed Methods Analysis (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Wahbeh ◽  
Tareq Nasralah ◽  
Mohammad Al-Ramahi ◽  
Omar El-Gayar
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Supervised Machine Learning ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Care Systems

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is considered to be the most daunting public health challenge in decades. With no effective treatments and with time needed to develop a vaccine, alternative approaches are being used to control this pandemic. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper was to identify topics, opinions, and recommendations about the COVID-19 pandemic discussed by medical professionals on the Twitter social medial platform. METHODS Using a mixed methods approach blending the capabilities of social media analytics and qualitative analysis, we analyzed COVID-19–related tweets posted by medical professionals and examined their content. We used qualitative analysis to explore the collected data to identify relevant tweets and uncover important concepts about the pandemic using qualitative coding. Unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques and text analysis were used to identify topics and opinions. RESULTS Data were collected from 119 medical professionals on Twitter about the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 10,096 English tweets were collected from the identified medical professionals between December 1, 2019 and April 1, 2020. We identified eight topics, namely actions and recommendations, fighting misinformation, information and knowledge, the health care system, symptoms and illness, immunity, testing, and infection and transmission. The tweets mainly focused on needed actions and recommendations (2827/10,096, 28%) to control the pandemic. Many tweets warned about misleading information (2019/10,096, 20%) that could lead to infection of more people with the virus. Other tweets discussed general knowledge and information (911/10,096, 9%) about the virus as well as concerns about the health care systems and workers (909/10,096, 9%). The remaining tweets discussed information about symptoms associated with COVID-19 (810/10,096, 8%), immunity (707/10,096, 7%), testing (605/10,096, 6%), and virus infection and transmission (503/10,096, 5%). CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that Twitter and social media platforms can help identify important and useful knowledge shared by medical professionals during a pandemic.

160: Cost-Effectiveness of Medical Management Strategies of Nephrolithiasis in Different Health Care Systems

2004 ◽  
Vol 171 (4S) ◽  
pp. 42-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yair Latan ◽  
David M. Wilhelm ◽  
David A. Duchene ◽  
Margaret S. Pearle
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Medical Management ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Care Systems

Barriers versus promotion: Culturally sensitive healthcare for elderly Turkish migrants in Austria and Germany

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-46
Author(s):  
Nevin Altıntop
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Culturally Sensitive ◽  
Turkish Migrants ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
Individual Care ◽  
Care Systems

What is the perception of Turkish migrants in elderly care? The increasing number of elder migrants within the German and Austrian population is causing the challenge of including them in an adequate (culturally sensitive) way into the German/Austrian health care system. Here I introduce the perception of elder Turkish migrants within the predominant paradigm of intercultural opening of health care in Germany as well as within the concept of diversity management of health care in Vienna (Austria). The qualitative investigation follows a field research in different German and Austrian cities within the last four years and an analysis based on the Grounded Theory Methodology. The meaning of intercultural opening on the one hand, and diversity management on the other hand with respect to elderly care will be evaluated. Whereas the intercultural opening directly demands a reduction of barriers to access institutional elderly care the concept of diversity is hardly successful in the inclusion of migrants into elderly care assistance – concerning both, migrants as care-givers and migrants as care-receivers. Despite the similarities between the health care systems of Germany and Austria there are decisive differences in the perception and inclusion of migrants in elderly care that is largely based on an 'individual care' concept of the responsible institutions. Finally, this investigation demonstrates how elderly care in Germany and Austria prepares to encounter the demand of 'individual care' in a diverse society.

Modernization, Globalization, Trends, and Convergence in Health Expenditure in Latin America and the Caribbean

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Noy ◽  
Patricia A. McManus
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Health Care Financing ◽  
Health Spending ◽  
Modernization Theory ◽  
The Public ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Public Private Mix

Are health care systems converging in developing nations? We use the case of health care financing in Latin America between 1995 and 2009 to assess the predictions of modernization theory, competing strands of globalization theory, and accounts of persistent cross-national differences. As predicted by modernization theory, we find convergence in overall health spending. The public share of health spending increased over this time period, with no convergence in the public-private mix. The findings indicate robust heterogeneity of national health care systems and suggest that globalization fosters human investment health policies rather than neoliberal, “race to the bottom” cutbacks in public health expenditures.

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