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Electrophysiological Measurements and Analysis of Nociception in Human Infants
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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Safe Sleep on Twitter: Analysis of Influences and Themes to Guide Health Promotion
Kelly A Pretorius1,2, Michael Mackert2,3,4, Gary B Wilcox2,3,5
1School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.
Insights
Social media discussions reveal varied information on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and safe sleep practices. Public health efforts should leverage platforms like Twitter to share accurate information and counter misinformation.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Social Media Analytics
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remains a leading cause of infant mortality in the US.
- Rising rates of unintentional sleep-related deaths and bed-sharing highlight persistent challenges.
- Ethnic disparities and the prevalence of misinformation necessitate targeted public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate social media conversations surrounding SIDS and safe sleep.
- To understand influences on public perception and guide health promotion strategies.
- To enable health professionals in communicating effectively about SIDS prevention.
Main Methods:
- Textual analytics applied to Twitter data from September-November 2017.
- Collection of 41,358 tweets using keywords related to SIDS and safe sleep.
- Analysis using text mining and social media monitoring software.
Main Results:
- Identified themes include safe sleep recommendations, devices, causes, and breastfeeding benefits.
- October (Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month) showed more personal stories of infant loss.
- Top influencers were news organizations, universities, and health organizations.
Conclusions:
- Twitter conversations offer insights into public understanding and misinformation regarding SIDS.
- Contradictory information and vaccine controversies were noted.
- Increased presence of public health organizations on social media is recommended to combat misinformation and promote safe sleep.
Background:
In the United States, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of death in infants aged 1 month to 1 year. Approximately 3500 infants die from SIDS and sleep-related reasons on a yearly basis. Unintentional sleep-related deaths and bed sharing, a known risk factor for SIDS, are on the rise. Furthermore, ethnic disparities exist among those most affected by SIDS. Despite public health campaigns, infant mortality persists. Given the popularity of social media, understanding social media conversations around SIDS and safe sleep may assist the medical and public health communities with information needed to spread, reinforce, or counteract false information regarding SIDS and safe sleep.
Objective:
The objective of our study was to investigate the social media conversation around SIDS and safe sleep to understand the possible influences and guide health promotion efforts and public health research as well as enable health professionals to engage in directed communication regarding this topic.
Methods:
We used textual analytics to identify topics and extract meanings contained in unstructured textual data. Twitter messages were captured during September, October, and November in 2017. Tweets and retweets were collected using NUVI software in conjunction with Twitter's search API using the keywords: "sids," "infant death syndrome," "sudden infant death syndrome," and "safe sleep." This returned a total of 41,358 messages, which were analyzed using text mining and social media monitoring software.
Results:
Multiple themes were identified, including recommendations for safe sleep to prevent SIDS, safe sleep devices, the potential causes of SIDS, and how breastfeeding reduces SIDS. Compared with September and November, more personal and specific stories of infant loss were demonstrated in October (Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month). The top influencers were news organizations, universities, and health-related organizations.
Conclusions:
We identified valuable topics discussed and shared on Twitter regarding SIDS and safe sleep. The study results highlight the contradicting information a subset of the population is exposed to regarding SIDS and the continued controversy over vaccines. In addition, this analysis emphasizes the lack of public health organizations' presence on Twitter compared with the influence of universities and news media organizations. The results also demonstrate the prevalence of safe sleep products that are embedded in safe sleep messaging. These findings can assist providers in speaking about relevant topics when engaging in conversations about the prevention of SIDS and the promotion of safe sleep. Furthermore, public health agencies and advocates should utilize social media and Twitter to better communicate accurate health information as well as continue to combat the spread of false information.
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