IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 7160: Understanding the Public ’s Emotions about Cancer: Analysis of Social Media Data

IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 7160: Understanding the Public’s Emotions about Cancer: Analysis of Social Media Data International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph17197160 Authors: Seul Ki Park Hyeoun-Ae Park Jooyun Lee Cancer survivors suffer from emotional distress, which varies depending on several factors. However, existing emotion management programs are insufficient and do not take into consideration all of the factors. Social media provides a platform for understanding the emotions of the public. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the public’s emotions about cancer and factors affecting emotions using social media data. We used 321,339 posts on cancer and emotions relating to cancer extracted from 22 social media channels between 1 January 2014, and 30 June 2017. The factors affecting emotions were analyzed using association rule mining and social network analysis. Hope/gratitude was the most frequently mentioned emotion group on social media followed by fear/anxiety/overwhelmed, sadness/depression/loneliness/guilt, and anger/denial. Acute survival stage, treatment method, and breast cancer were associated with hope/gratitude. Early stage, gastrointestinal problems, fatigue/pain/fever, and pancreatic cancer were associated with fear/anxiety/overwhelmed. Surgery, hair loss/skin problems, and fatigue/pain/fever were associated with sadness/depression/loneliness/guilt. Acute survival sta...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research