Regional variation in discussion of opioids on social media
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Background New data sources and analysis methods are urgently needed to improve opioid surveillance and prevent potential overdose. Social media data is one potential data source that might be used and integrated to address this issue. Objective: This study explored opioid-related topics discussed across geographical regions of varying population sizes to determine whether social media data might inform opioid surveillance. Methods: Between March 17th to July 17th, 2020, we collected tweets (N = 19,721) mentioning opioid-related keywords across seven cities within the United States. Results: Results found that opioid-related keywords were distributed as follows: New York (29%), Los Angeles (23%), Chicago (18%), Atlanta (18%), San Francisco (8%), Iowa (3%), and Orange County, CA (1%). We also found regional differences in the types of opioids and topics mentioned. Conclusions: Findings suggest the feasibility of using opioid-related social media data to inform surveillance efforts, as well as potential regional and time-varying differences in topics discussed.
Source: Journal of Addictive Diseases
Authors: Lidia Flores, Sean D. Young
Institution: University of California, Irvine
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: HOPE Social Media Intervention for HIV Testing and Studying Social Networks, Adapting the HOPE Online Support Intervention to Increase MAT Uptake Among OUD Patients, Mining real-time social media big data to monitor HIV: Development and Ethical Issues, Digital Device ID Targeting for Increasing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study, Adapting the HOPE Online Support Intervention to Increase MAT Uptake Among OUD Patients, Methodology and Advanced Analytics Resource Center (MAARC)
OpenAlex ID: W3127597271