Social Media Data Analysis Reveals Growing Acceptance of Health Information Technology
Social media can have a positive impact on public health awareness and improvement according to findings in a recent paper published by a team of researchers, which included Ann Rangarajan, assistant professor of information technology and management at Illinois Institute of Technology.
“Global Perspective on EMR and eHealth: Sentiment Analysis of Twitter Data Incorporating a Socio-Technical Framework” was published in International Journal of Intelligent Information. It uncovers public attitude toward health information technology during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This study demonstrates that information technology in health care is a powerful tool for both individuals and governments, and it is here to stay,” Rangarajan says. “Fostering research in health care from a socio-technical perspective, where humans are at the center of a complex and dynamic ecosystem, is imperative.”
Rangarajan collaborated with a research team that included experts from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Bentley University, and Purdue University-Fort Wayne on this research. They collected and analyzed posts from X (formerly Twitter) to survey public opinion from around the globe about eHealth and electronic medical records within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. They found a global acceptance of HIT and optimism about its role in information dissemination, control, and improved public health.
This research can guide governments in disease control and digital health communication, both during global health crises and in everyday situations, as well as addressing health literacy in underserved communities. The study also highlighted the role of virtual coalition-building and crowdsourcing in spreading digital health information through social media.
The findings also indicate a growing awareness of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things in health care, which reflects an increased understanding of IT’s broader technological ecosystem. The research team argues that modern IT can mitigate negative emotions and foster a positive outlook on public health and personal well-being. The findings also point to the potential for digital marketing by medical businesses to accelerate health care products adoption.
The research team turned to social media posts as a quick response to a shifting health care crisis is essential in developing solutions. Social media posts provide immediate access to data, captures emotional response, and the degree of emotion expressed. This real-time data is more valuable than other methods of data collection, such as surveys or interviews, which take more time, and risk low response rates. Analyzing social media posts also allows for random sample data from particular regions or countries.
The team analyzed the data using the actor-network theory, a popular socio-technical approach to study information system implementation in health care. It helps researchers examine the complexity and fluidity of real-time data, which linear and causal approaches lack.
“Health care is a prime example of a socio-technical system, where a symbiotic relationship between humans and technology mutually influences the other,” Rangarajan says.
