Analysis of chats on French internet forums about drugs and pregnancy

“…This is the first study to systematically review a large number of posts published publicly on multiple social media platforms related to the safety of medication use during pregnancy. Two previous studies focussed on a single social media source only: chats on French forums 14 and English YouTube videos. 15 Similar to those studies, we observed low concordance between the perceived online safety and official ratings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using social media as a data source for pharmacoepidemiological research or pharmacovigilance is challenging due to technical, regulatory and ethical issues . In a 2014 study, a limited number of chats on French forums was analysed to assess the quality and reliability of information on medication use in pregnancy shared by Internet users . Likewise, Hansen et al reported on YouTube videos as a source of information on medication use during pregnancy in 2016 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12,13 In a 2014 study, a limited number of chats on French forums was analysed to assess the quality and reliability of information on medication use in pregnancy shared by Internet users. 14 15 As both previous studies selected only one source of online information, these do not provide a complete overview of the quality and quantity of social media information available to pregnant women.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social media monitoring on the perceived safety of medication use during pregnancy: A case study from the Netherlands

Gelder

Rog²,

Bredie

et al. 2019

Brit J Clinical Pharma

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Aims An increasing number of women trust the Internet for information about medication safety during pregnancy. This study aimed to evaluate the availability and accuracy of social media content on the perceived safety of medication use in pregnancy. Methods We performed a systematic search of posts related to medication safety during pregnancy in the Dutch language published on social media, blogs and forums between May 2011 and April 2016 using Coosto, a tool for social media monitoring. The perceived safety in the posts was compared with the Dutch Teratology Information Service (TIS) safety classifications. Results We included 1224 online posts, which described 1441 scenarios about medication safety in pregnancy. A total of 820 (57%) scenarios were in line with the TIS classification. Incorrect perception was higher for prescription medication compared to medication available over‐the‐counter (60 vs 25%). Furthermore, the safety classification of medications with a TIS classification on strict indication or second‐line drugs (93%) and medications with insufficient knowledge on their safety during pregnancy (76%) was more likely to be incorrectly perceived by the public compared to medications with the TIS classification safe (24%). Conclusions Social media monitoring may be useful for surveillance of potentially unsafe use of medications in pregnancy. Many social posts related to medication safety during pregnancy provide inaccurate information. As this information may affect women's perceptions and decisions, accurate communication between healthcare providers and pregnant women regarding the benefits and risks of medications is vital.

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“…It is of interest that the underlying mechanism has only recently elucidated in 2014, several decades later (11). A further issue is that the relationship between patient and physician in the Internet age is complicated by the reliance of the former on untrustworthy data or unfounded skepticism of new untried developments (12, 13). …”

Section: Why the Progress In The Development Of Therapeutics In Feto-mentioning

confidence: 99%

Preeclampsia â€“ Will Orphan Drug Status Facilitate Innovative Biological Therapies?

Hahn

2015

Front. Surg.

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It is generally accepted that the development of novel therapies to treat pregnancy-related disorders, such as preeclampsia, is hampered by the paucity of research funding. Hence, it is with great interest to become aware of at least three novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of this disorder: exploiting either the anticoagulant activity of antithrombin, the free radical scavenging activity of alpha-1-microglobulin, or the regenerative capacity of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells. As these projects are being carried out by small biotech enterprises, the question arises of how they are able to fund such undertakings. A novel strategy adopted by two of these companies is that they successfully petitioned US and EU agencies in order that preeclampsia is accepted in the register of rare or orphan diseases. This provides a number of benefits including market exclusivity, assistance with clinical trials, and dedicated funding schemes. Other strategies to supplement meager research funds, especially to test novel approaches, could be crowdfunding, a venture that relies on intimate interaction with advocacy groups. In other words, preeclampsia meets Facebook. Perhaps similar strategies can be adopted to examine novel therapies targeting either the imbalance in pro- or anti-angiogenic growth factors, complement activation, reduced levels of placenta protein 13, or excessive neutrophil activation evident in preeclampsia.

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Analysis of chats on French internet forums about drugs and pregnancy

Abstract: This study shows that information related to drugs and pregnancy in online chats could be at risk for pregnant women. Internet users must be aware that online forums are not reliable sources of information.

Cited by 23 publications

References 11 publications

An assessment of pregnant women's knowledge and use of the Internet for medication safety information and purchase

An assessment of pregnant women's knowledge and use of the Internet for medication safety information and purchase

Social media monitoring on the perceived safety of medication use during pregnancy: A case study from the Netherlands

Preeclampsia â€“ Will Orphan Drug Status Facilitate Innovative Biological Therapies?

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