Public Perspectives on Anti-Diabetic Drugs: Exploratory Analysis of Twitter Posts

Abstract

Background Diabetes mellitus is a major global public health issue where self-management is critical to reducing disease burden. Social media has been a powerful tool to understand public perceptions. Public perception of the drugs used for the treatment of diabetes may be useful for orienting interventions to increase adherence. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the public perceptions of anti-diabetic drugs through the analysis of health-related tweets mentioning such medications. Methods This study uses an infoveillance social listening approach to monitor public discourse using Twitter data. We coded 4000 tweets from January 1, 2019 to October 1, 2019 containing key terms related to anti-diabetic drugs by using qualitative content analysis. Tweets were coded for whether they were truly about an anti-diabetic drug and whether they were health-related. Health-related tweets were further coded based on who was tweeting, which anti-diabetic drug was being tweeted about, and the content discussed in the tweet. The main outcome of the analysis was the themes identified by analyzing the content of health-related tweets on anti-diabetic drugs. Results We identified 1664 health-related tweets on 33 anti-diabetic drugs. A quarter (415/1664) of the tweets were confirmed to have been from people with diabetes, 17.9% (298/1664) from people posting about someone else, and 2.7% (45/1664) from health care professionals. However, the role of the tweeter was unidentifiable in two-thirds of the tweets. We identified 13 themes, with the health consequences of the cost of anti-diabetic drugs being the most extensively discussed, followed by the efficacy and availability. We also identified issues that patients may conceal from health care professionals, such as purchasing medications from unofficial sources. Conclusions This study uses an infoveillance approach using Twitter data to explore public perceptions related to anti-diabetic drugs. This analysis gives an insight into the real-life issues that an individual faces when taking anti-diabetic drugs, and such findings may be incorporated into health policies to improve compliance and efficacy. This study suggests that there is a fear of not having access to anti-diabetic drugs due to cost or physical availability and highlights the impact of the sacrifices made to access anti-diabetic drugs. Along with screening for diabetes-related health issues, health care professionals should also ask their patients about any non–health-related concerns regarding their anti-diabetic drugs. The positive tweets about dietary changes indicate that people with type 2 diabetes may be more open to self-management than what the health care professionals believe.

Areas of Interest and Social Consideration of Antidepressants on English Tweets: A Natural Language Processing Classification Study

“…On the other hand, patients' personal beliefs, that play a significant role in different aspects related to pharmacological treatment, have traditionally been studied using qualitative and arduous methods, which needed an update. On this regard, in recent years, research analysing social media posts has been gathering more interest as a tool leading to a more thorough comprehension of patient's beliefs, and of other factors that are involved in both their illness experience and therapeutic process [24][25][26][27]. These analyses also enable a better understanding of the views of non-patient individuals and include those of patients reluctant to go to a healthcare professional [26][27][28].…”

“…On this regard, in recent years, research analysing social media posts has been gathering more interest as a tool leading to a more thorough comprehension of patient's beliefs, and of other factors that are involved in both their illness experience and therapeutic process [24][25][26][27]. These analyses also enable a better understanding of the views of non-patient individuals and include those of patients reluctant to go to a healthcare professional [26][27][28]. It is also noteworthy that conversations in social media take place in a more informal and spontaneous environment than the ones that take place during an appointment with a professional, so they are more likely to show true beliefs [29][30][31].…”

Assessment of Antipsychotic Medications on Social Media: Machine Learning Study

“…Traditional research on patients' experiences to treatment has principally relied on surveys or interviews (12)(13)(14). However, the analysis of social media posts has emerged as an important tool capable of gathering a more comprehensive understanding of those factors involved in the therapeutic process and in the experience of the disease (15,16). It also allows for greater insights into the opinions of others apart from just the patients themselves, thereby providing additional data from a wider range of perspectives, including those patients that are reluctant to visit a medical professional (15)(16)(17).…”

“…However, the analysis of social media posts has emerged as an important tool capable of gathering a more comprehensive understanding of those factors involved in the therapeutic process and in the experience of the disease (15,16). It also allows for greater insights into the opinions of others apart from just the patients themselves, thereby providing additional data from a wider range of perspectives, including those patients that are reluctant to visit a medical professional (15)(16)(17). In addition, social media conversations are generated within a more casual and spontaneous environment than those that take place during a medical appointment; thus, they may be more likely to reflect true beliefs (18)(19)(20).…”

Areas of Interest and Attitudes towards the Pharmacological Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter

“…In particular, Twitter is the most commonly used social media platform within health research, and content analysis is the most common approach [ 13 , 14 ]. In this context, the exploration of tweets discussing perceptions of medications for better understanding, compliance and therapeutic decision making has been sufficiently established [ 15 , 16 ].…”