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. 2018 Apr;8(1):95-100.
doi: 10.22201/fpsi.20074719e.2018.1.09.

Who is Saying What on Twitter: An Analysis of Messages with References to HIV and HIV Risk Behavior

Sophie Lohmann  1 , Ismini Lourentzou  2 , Chengxiang Zhai  2 , Dolores Albarracín  1
Affiliations

Who is Saying What on Twitter: An Analysis of Messages with References to HIV and HIV Risk Behavior

Sophie Lohmann et al. Acta Investig Psicol. 2018 Apr.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

This research aimed to determine the nature of social media discussions about HIV. With the goal of conducting a descriptive analysis, we collected almost 1,000 tweets posted February to September 2015. The sample of tweets included keywords related to HIV or behavioral risk factors (e.g., sex, drug use) and was coded for content (e.g., HIV), behavior change strategies, and message source. Seven percent of tweets concerned HIV/AIDS, which were often referred to as jokes or insults. The majority of tweets coded as behavior change attempts involved attitude change strategies. The majority of the tweets (80%) came from private users (vs. organizations). Different types of sources employed different types of behavior change strategies: For instance, private users, compared to experts or organizations, included more strategies to decrease detrimental attitudes (29% versus 6%, p < .001), and also more strategies to counter myths and misinformation (6% versus 1%, p = .008). In summary, tweets related to HIV/AIDS and associated risk factors frequently use the terms in jokes and insults, come largely from private users, and entail attitudinal and informational strategies. Online health campaigns with clear calls to action and corrections of misinformation may make important contributions to social media conversations about HIV/AIDS.

Esta investigación tuvo el objectivo de caracterizar las discusiones sobre VIH en los medios sociales. Con el objetivo de realizar un análisis descriptivo, recogimos alrededor de mil tweets entre febrero y septiembre del 2015. Estos tweets fueron seleccionados si incluían palabras claves relacionadas con el VIH o con factores de riesgo conductual tales como sexo o uso de drogas. Cuatro codificadores clasificaron los tweets en función del contenido (e.g., el VIH como enfermedad, referido a un product o servicio), la estrategia de cambio conductual (cambio conductual, llamada a la acción, o corrección de mitos), y la fuente del mensaje (e.g., usuarios privados, expertos, empresas comerciales). La mayoría de los tweets (80%) provenía de usuarios privados en lugar de institucionales. El 7% de los tweets se refería estrictamente al VIH u otras infecciones de transmisión sexual, frecuentemente utilizando esos términos como bromas o insultos, tales como escribir que una experiencia displacentera “me dio SIDA”. La mayoría de los intentos de cambio conductual incluía estrategias de reducción de actitudes negativas. Fuentes de distintos tipos empleaban estrategias de cambio conductual de distintos tipos. Por ejemplo, usuarios privados (comparados con expertos, organizaciones comerciales, y otras organizaciones, tal como periódicos y ONGs), publicaban más mesajes clasificados como estrategias de promoción de actitudes negativas (29% versus 6%, p < .001), y tenían más correcciones de mitos (6% versus 1%, p = .008). En resumen, los tweets que mencionan el VIH o factores de riesgo de VIH utilizan los términos en bromas e insultos con gran frecuencia, provienen mayormente de usuarios privados, e incluyen estrategias de cambio de actitud. Las campañas de Internet con llamadas claras a la acción y con correcciones de mitos pueden hacer contribuciones importantes a las conversaciones sobre VIH en los medios sociales.

Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; HIV; VIH; actitud; attitude; behavior change; cambio de conducta; communication; comunicación; infección de transmisión sexual; medios sociales; sexually transmitted infections; social media; síndrome de inmunodeficiencia adquirida.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Four examples of tweets as users can see them on Twitter. The tweets on the left are examples of tweets with HIV as a topic, the ones on the right are examples of tweets about a behavior related to a disease or a social problem such as rape.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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