A Social Ties-based Approach to Breast Cancer Patients' Quality of Life: Examining Group Ties and Individual Ties across Offline and Online Settings.

Supportive social ties positively impact cancer patients' health; however, little is known about the intertwined links between both offline and online ties, and individual and group ties. Using the common-identity/common-bond approach, we empirically tested the critical difference that individual and group ties exert on health across offline and online settings. Results from 356 female breast cancer patients showed group ties affect quality of life through sequential group identification and social support, while individual ties affect quality of life through sequential interpersonal bonds and social support. Offline group and online individual ties are stronger predictors of quality of life than online group and offline individual ties. A cluster analysis categorized participants into four distinguishable segments. People with stronger offline interpersonal bonds and online group identification reported a better quality of life. This offers insight into the social dynamics that are most consequential for health, and the potential theoretical pathways through which they operate.

Reactions to foodborne Escherichia coli outbreaks: A text-mining analysis of the public's response.

Foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria are being reported at an increasing rate in the United States. We performed a text-mining analysis to look at nearly 13,000 tweets from two foodborne Escherichia coli outbreaks in 2018. Concerns from the public included staying informed about contaminated lettuce, recognizing signs of infection, and holding responsible farms accountable. At the end of the second outbreak, comments were focused on assessing symptoms, using the traceback process to locate outbreak sources, and calling for better food labeling practices.

Public reactions to e-cigarette regulations on Twitter: a text mining analysis.

BACKGROUND: In May 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule that deemed e-cigarettes to be within their regulatory authority as a tobacco product. News and opinions about the regulation were shared on social media platforms, such as Twitter, which can play an important role in shaping the public's attitudes. We analysed information shared on Twitter for insights into initial public reactions. METHODS: A text mining approach was used to uncover important topics among reactions to the e-cigarette regulations on Twitter. SAS Text Miner V.12.1 software was used for descriptive text mining to uncover the primary topics from tweets collected from May 1 to May 17 2016 using NUVI software to gather the data. RESULTS: A total of nine topics were generated. These topics reveal initial reactions to whether the FDA's e-cigarette regulations will benefit or harm public health, how the regulations will impact the emerging e-cigarette market and efforts to share the news. The topics were dominated by negative or mixed reactions. CONCLUSIONS: In the days following the FDA's announcement of the new deeming regulations, the public reaction on Twitter was largely negative. Public health advocates should consider using social media outlets to better communicate the policy's intentions, reach and potential impact for public good to create a more balanced conversation.

E-Cigarette Topics Shared by Medical Professionals: A Comparison of Tweets from the United States and United Kingdom.

Medical professionals are now relying on social media platforms like Twitter to express their recommendations for the use or avoidance of products like electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), which may have long-term health consequences for users. The goal of this study is to compare how physicians from the United States and the United Kingdom talk about e-cigs on Twitter and identify the topics that these groups perceive as salient. Comparing tweets from the U.S. and U.K. will allow for a better understanding of how medical professionals from these countries differ in their attitudes toward e-cigs. This information can be also used to inform policies designed to regulate the use of e-cigs. Using a text-mining program, we analyzed approximately 3,800 original tweets sent by physicians from the U.S. and the U.K. within a 1-year time span (June 2015 through June 2016). The program clustered the tweets by topics, which allowed us to categorize the topics by importance. Both sets of tweets contained debates about the degree to which e-cigs pose a threat to health, but the U.S. tweets emphasized the dangers of e-cig use for teens, while the U.K. tweets focused more on the potential that e-cigs have to be used as a smoking cessation aid. Doctors are using Twitter to share timely information about the potential risks, benefits, and regulations associated with e-cigs. Evaluating these tweets allows researchers to collect information about topics that doctors find important and make comparisons about how medical professionals from the U.S. and the U.K. regard e-cigs.

Hanging by a thread: exploring the features of nonresponse in an online young adult cancer survivorship support community.

PURPOSE: Finding helpful information can be challenging for young adult (YA) cancer survivors; thus, it is critical to examine features of online posts that successfully solicit responses and assess how these differ from posts that do not solicit responses. METHODS: Using posts from an online YA cancer support community, we analyzed initial posts that did and did not receive replies utilizing Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC). RESULTS: Independent t tests revealed significant differences between the sets of posts regarding content, emotions, cognitive processes, pronoun use, and linguistic complexity. More specifically, posts with replies contained fewer words per sentence, had more first-person pronouns, had more expressions of negative emotions, and contained more present tense and past tense verbs. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study can help improve peer-exchanged support in online communities so that YA cancer survivors can more effectively receive digital support. This research also provides communication researchers, health educators, and care providers a lens for understanding the YA cancer survivorship experience. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: This research helps survivors be strategic in how they use online forums to seek advice and support. More complete understanding of what kinds of prompts produce responses allows those in need to craft messages in ways that are most likely to elicit support from fellow cancer survivors. These implications for message design extend beyond blogging and can be applicable for text message and email exchanges between cancer patients and their care providers.