Realfood and Cancer: Analysis of the Reliability and Quality of YouTube Content.

This study analyzes the quality and reliability of videos related to nutrition and cancer on YouTube. STUDY DESIGN: An observational, retrospective, cross-sectional, time-limited study analyzing activity on the social network YouTube was proposed. METHODS: The information from the videos was extracted through an API search tool, using the NodeXL software. The criteria to select the videos on YouTube were the keywords "real food", "realfood", and "cancer" and the hashtags #realfood and #cancer were present, videos in English and videos available on 1 December 2022. RESULTS: The DISCERN value in the total number of videos viewed was 2.25 (±0.88) points, indicating low reliability. The videos uploaded by HRU represented only 20.8%. Videos suggesting that the use of foods defined as "real food" could cure cancer without the intervention of any other treatment accounted for 12.5%. Videos that provided external links to scientific/technical evidence verifying the information represented only 13.89% of the total number of videos. Of these videos, 70% corresponded to HRU. The DISCERN value for videos from HRU users was 3.05 (0.88), a value that reflects a good reliability of videos from these users. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides information on the content and quality of the videos that we can find on YouTube. We found videos of non-health users who do not base their content on any scientific evidence, with the danger that this entails for the population, but it also highlights that the videos published by HRU have greater reliability and quality, being better perceived by the population, so it is important to encourage healthcare professionals and health institutions to share verified information on YouTube.

Analysis of Healthcare Professionals' and Institutions' Roles in Twitter Colostomy Information.

Social media represents a powerful tool for disseminating verified health information on topics such as colostomy, and the roles of healthcare professionals and institutions to ensure the veracity of the information conveyed is increasingly relevant. The main objectives of this study were to analyze the roles of these healthcare professionals and institutions in the conversation about colostomy, without being framed in a specific health communication campaign, and to know the use of reliable information in the conversation. The study was carried out by analyzing Twitter messages containing the hashtag "colostomy" and "Chron" between the 1 January and the 30 April 2022. It was conducted using the NodeXL software, focusing on content analysis of tweets and users' accounts. The results show that accounts with healthcare activity influence the impressions generated on the network (p = 0.018), finding that nurses are the most active healthcare professionals (22.24%) also having a significant effect on the overall network interactions (p = 0.022). In contrast, we found that institutions do not actively participate on the network. We emphasize the responsibility of institutions for health education and the need for professionals to improve communication skills on social networks, but also the need to improve communication skills on social media to support public health campaigns through these increasingly important channels.

Bots' Activity on COVID-19 Pro and Anti-Vaccination Networks: Analysis of Spanish-Written Messages on Twitter.

This study aims to analyze the role of bots in the dissemination of health information, both in favor of and opposing vaccination against COVID-19. Study design: An observational, retrospective, time-limited study was proposed, in which activity on the social network Twitter was analyzed. Methods: Data related to pro-vaccination and anti-vaccination networks were compiled from 24 December 2020 to 30 April 2021 and analyzed using the software NodeXL and Botometer. The analyzed tweets were written in Spanish, including keywords that allow identifying the message and focusing on bots' activity and their influence on both networks. Results: In the pro-vaccination network, 404 bots were found (14.31% of the total number of users), located mainly in Chile (37.87%) and Spain (14.36%). The anti-vaccination network bots represented 16.19% of the total users and were mainly located in Spain (8.09%) and Argentina (6.25%). The pro-vaccination bots generated greater impact than bots in the anti-vaccination network (p < 0.000). With respect to the bots' influence, the pro-vaccination network did have a significant influence compared to the activity of human users (p < 0.000). Conclusions: This study provides information on bots' activity in pro- and anti-vaccination networks in Spanish, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic on Twitter. It is found that bots in the pro-vaccination network influence the dissemination of the pro-vaccination message, as opposed to those in the anti-vaccination network. We consider that this information could provide guidance on how to enhance the dissemination of public health campaigns, but also to combat the spread of health misinformation on social media.

Health Literacy and Critical Lecture as Key Elements to Detect and Reply to Nutrition Misinformation on Social Media: Analysis between Spanish Healthcare Professionals.

Health misinformation about nutrition and other health aspects on social media is a current public health concern. Healthcare professionals play an essential role in efforts to detect and correct it. The present study focuses on analyzing the use of competencies associated with training in methodology, health literacy, and critical lecture in order to detect sources of health misinformation that use scientific articles to support their false information. A qualitative study was conducted between 15 and 30 January 2022, wherein the participants were recruited from active users from a nutrition conversation on Twitter, diets, and cancer and defined themselves as healthcare professionals. This study demonstrates that health literacy and critical lecture competencies allow for the detection of more misinformation messages and are associated with a high rate of responses to users that spread the misinformation messages. Finally, this study proposes the necessity of developing actions to improve health literacy and critical lecture competencies between healthcare professionals. However, in order to achieve this, health authorities must develop strategies to psychologically support those healthcare professionals faced with bullying as a result of their activity on social media debunking health hoaxes.

Antivaccine Movement and COVID-19 Negationism: A Content Analysis of Spanish-Written Messages on Twitter.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, different conspiracies have risen, with the most dangerous being those focusing on vaccines. Today, there exists a social media movement focused on destroying the credibility of vaccines and trying to convince people to ignore the advice of governments and health organizations on vaccination. Our aim was to analyze a COVID-19 antivaccination message campaign on Twitter that uses Spanish as the main language, to find the key elements in their communication strategy. Twitter data were retrieved from 14 to 28 December using NodeXL software. We analyzed tweets in Spanish, focusing on influential users, most influential tweets, and content analysis of tweets. The results revealed ordinary citizens who 'offer the truth' as the most important profile in this network. The content analysis showed antivaccine tweets (31.05%) as the most frequent. The analysis of anti-COVID19 tweets showed that attacks against vaccine safety were the most important (79.87%) but we detected a new kind of message presenting the vaccine as a means of manipulating the human genetic code (8.1%). We concluded that the antivaccine movement and its tenets have great influence in the COVID-19 negationist movement. We observed a new topic in COVID-19 vaccine hoaxes that must be considered in our fight against misinformation.

Healthcare Professionals' Role in Social Media Public Health Campaigns: Analysis of Spanish Pro Vaccination Campaign on Twitter.

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a great impact worldwide both on the population health but also on an economic and social level. In this health emergency, a key element has been and still is the need for information, which has become a daily concern for many people. Social media represent powerful tools for searching and gathering health-related information, thus becoming a new place where health authorities need to be present to disseminate information of preventive measures like vaccines against COVID-19, as well as try to block information against these public health measures. The main goal of this study was to analyze the role that healthcare professionals have in Twitter to support the campaign of public institutions on vaccination against COVID-19. To address this study, an analysis of the messages sent on Twitter containing the hashtag #yomevacuno, between 12 December 2020 was developed using the NodeXL software (Social Media Research Foundation, Redwood, CA, USA), focusing on content analysis of tweets and users' accounts to identify healthcare professionals. The results show that healthcare professionals represent only 11.38% of users, being responsible for 6.35% of impressions generated by the network #yomevacuno. We can observe that traffic information generated by healthcare professionals is not significant in comparison with institutions (p = 0.633), but it is compared to common users (p = 0.0014). The most active healthcare professionals were pharmacists (40.17%), nurses (27.17%), and physicians (12.14%). Their activity (90.43% of messages) was mainly focused on sharing messages generated by other users' accounts. From original content generated by healthcare professionals, only 78.95% had a favorable storytelling on the vaccine, but without sharing information about vaccines or vaccination. As a conclusion for this study, the participation of healthcare professionals in the dissemination and generation of information within the #yomevacuno communication strategy, led by the Spanish Ministry of Health, has been scarce. We emphasize the need to enhance communication skills in social networks to support public health campaigns through these increasingly important social media.

[COVID-19 and vaccination: analysis of public institution's role in information spread through Twitter.] / COVID-19 y vacunación: Análisis del papel de las instituciones públicas en la difusión de información a través de Twitter.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a time where social media allows increased conversations about it. These conversations have spread various conspiracies about vaccines against COVID-19. It is, therefore, necessary to develop communication strategies, led by official accounts, that offer accessible information on vaccination as a preventive public health strategy. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of public institutions on Twitter campaign #yomevacuno to deal with misinformation about vaccination against COVID-19. METHODS: This paper performs a social network analysis and content analysis of Twitter data, using NodeXL software, from December 8th to 23rd, 2020. Tweets included content #yomevacuno hashtag. RESULTS: A total of 6,080 interactions were collected, 82% were tweets. Data shows that public institutions generate 53.36% of traffic information, the most important was the Ministerio de Sanidad from Spain. Content analysis revealed that 48% of a sample of 50 Tweets the message was focused on vaccination as a social responsibility to defeat COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The communication strategy of #yomevacuno hashtag, has been led by the Ministerio de Sanidad of Spain, by comparison to other campaigns in which there was no large presence of public institutions. This case represents the importance of social media as a way to spread information and prevention, even in public health and the need for them to be led by public organizations rather than by individual users.

OBJETIVO: Durante la pandemia de COVID-19, las redes sociales han servido de medio para difundir mensajes a favor y en contra de las vacunas. Es por tanto necesario desarrollar estrategias de comunicación, lideradas por organismos oficiales, que ofrezcan información accesible sobre la vacunación como medida preventiva de Salud Pública. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar el papel en Twitter de las instituciones públicas en la campaña de concienciación sobre la vacunación frente a la COVID-19. METODOS: Se desarrolló un análisis de los mensajes enviados a través de Twitter que contuvieran el hashtag #yomevacuno, entre los días 8 y 23 de diciembre de 2020, utilizando el software NodeXL. Se analizó tanto el flujo de información como los usuarios más influyentes en la red #yomevacuno, así como el contenido de los tuits. RESULTADOS: Se recopilaron 6.080 interacciones, donde el 8,2% fueron contenidos originales (tuits). Se observó que las instituciones oficiales generaron el 53,36% del tráfico total, siendo la más activa el Ministerio de Sanidad. El análisis de contenidos mostró que el mensaje principal fue el de la apelación a la vacunación frente a la COVID-19 como responsabilidad social (48%). CONCLUSIONES: En este estudio se observa la estrategia de comunicación del hashtag #yomevacuno a favor de la campaña de vacunación frente a la COVID-19. Esta campaña muestra como, en contraposición a otras campañas de fomento de estrategias de prevención de Salud Pública, una institución pública (el Ministerio de Sanidad) lidera el flujo de información ofrecida a los usuarios de la red social Twitter. Este caso representa la importancia de las redes sociales como medio de información y prevención en Salud Pública y la necesidad de que sean lideradas por organizaciones públicas más que por usuarios individuales.