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Twitter and assisted dying: using social media analysis software to evaluate the conversation around assisted dying in terms of guidelines on responsible reporting of suicide

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posted on 2023-06-09, 07:04 authored by Nathan Hodson, Maxwell CooperMaxwell Cooper
News reports of assisted dying can trigger individuals to end their own lives. Social media is unaccountable to guidelines on reporting suicides. Radian6 social media analysis software was used to explore whether Twitter messages breached guidelines on reporting assisted dying more often than formal online news. Tweets and online news were compared by how frequently “assisted dying” was collocated with test-words indicating breach of assisted dying reporting guidelines. Structural features of Twitter such as the word count limit, timeline arrangement, and the ease of sharing tweets, were also compared with four of the identified guidelines. Both analyses showed that several guidelines were breached more frequently on Twitter than on mainstream news.This proof of concept study shows that data from Twitter can be compared with guidelines in order to appraise the online representation of healthcare issues. Structural factors within Twitter may contribute to messages that contravene guidance on reporting assisted dying.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

International Journal of Communication and Health

ISSN

2359-8220

Publisher

International Journal of Communication and Health

Issue

12

Volume

2017

Department affiliated with

  • Division of Medical Education Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2017-07-06

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2017-07-06

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2017-07-06

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