What do health providers and patients tweet about schizophrenia?

Twitter is the most commonly used social media forum in public health and is considered the radio of the internet. Many health providers utilize this media to disseminate health information. Patient use of social media for mental health topics encourages providers to disseminate quality information and to develop virtual collaborative learning environments. This study explored trends in health information exchanged by patients, doctors and health organizations about schizophrenia through analyses of tweets posted using the #schizophrenia.

The likelihood that the information distributed by each user type was scholarly was assessed via qualitative and logistic regression analyses. Specifically, a sequential exploratory multimethod of data analysis guided this study with a sample of 981 tweets.

Most tweets focused on the improvement of schizophrenia literacy (n = 366) followed by personal experiences/motivational stories (n = 207) and biological explanations of the disorder (n = 158). Logistic regression results indicated that compared to doctors, patients were less likely to tweet with a scholarly source (OR = 0.481, CI = 0.311, .744; P < .001). All users were less likely to include a scholarly source when tweeting about schizophrenia literacy, personal/motivational experiences, campaign/organizational events or illness management in comparison to those who tweeted about biological explanations of schizophrenia.

Results suggest all users disseminated beneficial information that can increase public schizophrenia literacy and illness management, while connecting individuals to organizational events targeting this debilitating disorder. Health providers are encouraged to establish a presence on social media to share scholarly work with patients and promote prompt treatment for schizophrenia.