Health Pandemic and Social Media: A Content Analysis of COVID-Related Posts on a Telegram Channel with More Than One Million Subscribers

Simin Mehdipour, Nazanin Jannati, Mozhgan Negarestani, Saber Amirzadeh, Sareh Keshvardoost, Farzaneh Zolala, Atiyeh Vaezipour, Maryam Hosseinnejad, Farhad Fatehi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference PaperResearchpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Mobile-based social media play an important role in the dissemination of information during public health emergencies. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the contents and trends of public messages posted on Telegram during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A content analysis of the 1781 messages, posted in a public Telegram channel with more than one million subscribers performed over 9-weeks. The messages were categorized into seven categories. Results: In total, 39% (n=703) of all messages were related to COVID-19. With the official confirmation of the case of COVID-19 in Iran, the number of COVID-related massages started to rise. Overall, the most frequent messages were of joke and humor (n=292, 41.5%), followed by educational messages (n=140, 19.9%). Conclusion: Our study showed that the most popular messages during first weeks of COVID pandemic were satirical, indicating that people may not had taken the risks of this pandemic seriously. It is crucial for health organizations to develop strategies for dissemination of reliable health information through social media.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNavigating Healthcare Through Challenging Times - Proceedings of dHealth 2021 - Health Informatics Meets Digital Health
EditorsDieter Hayn, Gunter Schreier, Martin Baumgartner
Place of PublicationAmsterdam Netherlands
PublisherIOS Press
Pages122-129
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9781643681818
ISBN (Print)9781643681801
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
EventAnnual Conference on Health Informatics meets Digital Health 2021 - Virtual, Online, Austria
Duration: 11 May 202112 May 2021
Conference number: 15th

Publication series

NameStudies in Health Technology and Informatics
Volume279
ISSN (Print)0926-9630
ISSN (Electronic)1879-8365

Conference

ConferenceAnnual Conference on Health Informatics meets Digital Health 2021
Abbreviated titledHealth 2021
Country/TerritoryAustria
CityVirtual, Online
Period11/05/2112/05/21

Keywords

  • Coronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • Mobile health
  • Social media
  • Social networking

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