RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant global impact, with millions of cases and deaths. Research highlights the persistence of symptoms over time (post-COVID-19 condition), a situation of particular concern in children and young people with symptoms. Social media such as Twitter (subsequently rebranded as X) could provide valuable information on the impact of the post-COVID-19 condition on this demographic. OBJECTIVE: With a social media analysis of the discourse surrounding the prevalence of post-COVID-19 condition in children and young people, we aimed to explore the perceptions of health care workers (HCWs) concerning post-COVID-19 condition in children and young people in the United Kingdom between January 2021 and January 2022. This will allow us to contribute to the emerging knowledge on post-COVID-19 condition and identify critical areas and future directions for researchers and policy makers. METHODS: From a pragmatic paradigm, we used a mixed methods approach. Through discourse, keyword, sentiment, and image analyses, using Pulsar and InfraNodus, we analyzed the discourse about the experience of post-COVID-19 condition in children and young people in the United Kingdom shared on Twitter between January 1, 2021, and January 31, 2022, from a sample of HCWs with Twitter accounts whose biography identifies them as HCWs. RESULTS: We obtained 300,000 tweets, out of which (after filtering for relevant tweets) we performed an in-depth qualitative sample analysis of 2588 tweets. The HCWs were responsive to announcements issued by the authorities regarding the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The most frequent sentiment expressed was negative. The main themes were uncertainty about the future, policies and regulations, managing and addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and post-COVID-19 condition in children and young people, vaccination, using Twitter to share scientific literature and management strategies, and clinical and personal experiences. CONCLUSIONS: The perceptions described on Twitter by HCWs concerning the presence of the post-COVID-19 condition in children and young people appear to be a relevant and timely issue and responsive to the declarations and guidelines issued by health authorities over time. We recommend further support and training strategies for health workers and school staff regarding the manifestations and treatment of children and young people with post-COVID-19 condition.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Mídias Sociais , Criança , Humanos , Adolescente , Pandemias , Síndrome de COVID-19 Pós-Aguda , Doença Crônica , Pessoal de SaúdeRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To understand the predominant topics of discussion, stance and associated language used on social media platforms relating to maternal vaccines in 15 countries over a six-month period. BACKGROUND: In 2019, the World Health Organisation prioritised vaccine hesitancy as a top ten global health threat and recognized the role of viral misinformation on social media as propagating vaccine hesitancy. Maternal vaccination offers the potential to improve maternal and child health, and to reduce the risk of severe morbidity and mortality in pregnancy. Understanding the topics of discussion, stance and language used around maternal vaccines on social media can inform public health bodies on how to combat vaccine misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. METHODS: Social media data was extracted (Twitter, forums, blogs and comments) for six months from 15 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Panama, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom and United States). We used stance, discourse and topic analysis to provide insight into the most frequent and weighted keywords, hashtags and themes of conversation within and across countries. RESULTS: We exported a total of 19,192 social media posts in 16 languages obtained between 1st November 2018 and 30th April 2019. After screening all posts, 16,000 were included in analyses, while excluding retweets, 2,722 were annotated for sentiment. Main topics of discussion were the safety of the maternal influenza and pertussis vaccines. Discouraging posts were most common in Italy (44.9%), and the USA (30.8%). CONCLUSION: The content and stance of maternal vaccination posts from November 2018 to April 2019 differed across countries, however specific topics of discussion were not limited to geographical location. These discussions included the promotion of vaccination, involvement of pregnant women in vaccine research, and the trust and transparency of institutions. Future research should examine the relationship between stance (promotional, neutral, ambiguous, discouraging) online and maternal vaccination uptake in the respective regions.