
Twitter Awash with Opinions on HPV Vaccine
Researchers recently utilized Twitter user data to discern public opinions on the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, with surprising results.
Big Data abounds across many different platforms, and healthcare providers are poised to utilize these data to inform decisions. Recent studies have looked at how Facebook posts capture users’ opinions on
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (
The HPV vaccine guidelines were recently updated to recommend that preteens (11 to 12 years of age) receive 2 doses of the HPV vaccine (instead of the previously recommended 3 doses.) According to
Despite these new recommendations, some individuals are still choosing not to vaccinate their children and are taking to social media to voice their concerns. In the recent
Study co-author, Philip M. Massey, MPH, PhD, assistant professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University, was quoted in a recent
After analyzing almost 200,000 “English-language tweets between the summers of 2014 and 2015,” the researchers found that “nearly 39% of tweets about HPV vaccine were positive, while just over 25% were negative.”
Although it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their children receive recommended vaccinations, it is important to almost monitor the general consensus on vaccines on social media because the teens and adolescents who are the priority targets for the HPV vaccine are among the highest utilizers of social media, according to the press release.
In the press release, Dr. Massey stated, "Kids, adolescents and young people, in general, are priority populations for HPV vaccination. These same populations are some of the highest utilizers of social media. Parents play a key role in deciding whether their kids will get the vaccine, and as more millennials reach parenthood, social media may play an even bigger role in cancer prevention, especially concerning HPV vaccination."
He continued, “We need to think more about how we can help strengthen people's ability to obtain, evaluate and apply well-founded information from trustworthy sources to inform health decisions.”
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