Demographic differences in people living with HIV according to recruitment sources: comparison between health-care systems and social media networks

Abstract Objective and Design: The incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among people living with HIV (PLWH) has been estimated on the basis of reported symptomatic clinical cases. However, as asymptomatic cases are common and there have been limitations of health care systems for COVID-19 microbiological diagnosis, these estimations may be misleading. The availability of reliable serology for the diagnosis of COVID-19 may overcome this drawback. This study was carried out in order to reveal the actual incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in PLWH in Southern Spain.Methods: This is a prospective cohort study including HIV infected patients from the Unit of Infectious Diseases of a university hospital in Seville, Southern Spain. Patients were enrolled in the study if 1) they had attended the outpatient clinic from September 1st to December 31st, 2019 (baseline), and 2) had a subsequent evaluation from March 1st to June 30th, 2020 (intra-pandemic). Serum antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were determined in baseline and intra-pandemic samples.Results: 326 patients were included in the study. Of them, 4 (1.25% [95% CI: 0.3%-3.1%]) developed COVID-19. One patient developed bilateral pneumonia and died. The remaining three showed mild respiratory symptoms suggesting COVID-19. No asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was observed in this study. No patient with COVID-19 was tobacco smoker. The incidence of COVID-19 among non-smokers was 2.5% (95% CI [0.6%-6%], p=0.057 versus smokers).Conclusions: The incidence of COVID-19 among PLWH in our area was low and similar to that observed in the general population. The frequency of asymptomatic cases might be lower than in patients without HIV infection. Tobacco smoking could be associated to a lower incidence of COVID-19.

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Post Your Journey: Instagram as a Support Community for People With Fibromyalgia

Qualitative Health Research ◽

10.1177/1049732318789102 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 237-247 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ashley A. Berard ◽

André P. Smith

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Social Capital ◽

Social Media ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Chronic Illness ◽

Health Care Systems ◽

Virtual Community ◽

Widespread Pain ◽

Care Systems ◽

Media Applications

Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness with primary symptoms of widespread pain and fatigue. Social media applications have become a recent resource allowing individuals with fibromyalgia to interact in a virtual community devoted to the illness. This study explores how such a community develops and maintains itself on Instagram and the ways it creates social capital for its users. Data are derived from Instagram posts and open-ended questionnaires completed by users living with fibromyalgia who use the application. Using content analysis and semiotic methodology, the study analyzes the diverse ways in which users shared their experiences with fibromyalgia, the management of its symptoms, and issues encountered in accessing health care systems. Instagram aids in the development of a community by facilitating intimate and supportive interactions about the illness and the creation of personalized day-to-day narratives accessible to all. Norms of trust, acceptance, and reciprocity characterize the diversity of interactions in this community.

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Mining Physicians’ Opinions on Social Media to Obtain Insights Into COVID-19: Mixed Methods Analysis

JMIR Public Health and Surveillance ◽

10.2196/19276 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. e19276 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Abdullah Wahbeh ◽

Tareq Nasralah ◽

Mohammad Al-Ramahi ◽

Omar El-Gayar

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Social Media ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Qualitative Analysis ◽

Health Care Systems ◽

Supervised Machine Learning ◽

Machine Learning Techniques ◽

Medical Professionals ◽

Social Media Analytics ◽

Care Systems

Background The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is considered to be the most daunting public health challenge in decades. With no effective treatments and with time needed to develop a vaccine, alternative approaches are being used to control this pandemic. Objective The objective of this paper was to identify topics, opinions, and recommendations about the COVID-19 pandemic discussed by medical professionals on the Twitter social medial platform. Methods Using a mixed methods approach blending the capabilities of social media analytics and qualitative analysis, we analyzed COVID-19–related tweets posted by medical professionals and examined their content. We used qualitative analysis to explore the collected data to identify relevant tweets and uncover important concepts about the pandemic using qualitative coding. Unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques and text analysis were used to identify topics and opinions. Results Data were collected from 119 medical professionals on Twitter about the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 10,096 English tweets were collected from the identified medical professionals between December 1, 2019 and April 1, 2020. We identified eight topics, namely actions and recommendations, fighting misinformation, information and knowledge, the health care system, symptoms and illness, immunity, testing, and infection and transmission. The tweets mainly focused on needed actions and recommendations (2827/10,096, 28%) to control the pandemic. Many tweets warned about misleading information (2019/10,096, 20%) that could lead to infection of more people with the virus. Other tweets discussed general knowledge and information (911/10,096, 9%) about the virus as well as concerns about the health care systems and workers (909/10,096, 9%). The remaining tweets discussed information about symptoms associated with COVID-19 (810/10,096, 8%), immunity (707/10,096, 7%), testing (605/10,096, 6%), and virus infection and transmission (503/10,096, 5%). Conclusions Our findings indicate that Twitter and social media platforms can help identify important and useful knowledge shared by medical professionals during a pandemic.

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Integrating Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Into HIV Care Systems in Indonesia: A Synthesis of Recent Evidence

Creative Nursing ◽

10.1891/1078-4535.26.1.9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 9-16

Author(s):

Linlin Lindayani ◽

Irma Darmawati ◽

Heni Purnama ◽

Bhakti Permana

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Geriatric Assessment ◽

Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Hiv Care ◽

Geriatric Syndrome ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Age Related ◽

Care Systems ◽

Living With Hiv

Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has improved the health and life expectancy of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Comorbidities and geriatric syndrome are more prevalent in patients with HIV than in the general population. As a result, people living with HIV may face unique characteristics and needs related to aging. Health-care systems need to prepare to encounter those issues that not only focus on virology suppression and cART management but also chronic non-AIDS comorbidities and geriatric syndrome. However, there are limited data on geriatric assessment among people living with HIV. The purpose of this article is to present findings of a literature search that integrate age-related issues in HIV care management for health-care professionals caring for people living with HIV in Indonesia to consider. Integrating comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) into HIV care is essential. However, some critical issues need to be considered prior to implementing CGA in HIV primary care, including social vulnerability, economic inequality, and aging-related stigma. Developing guidelines for implementing CGA in HIV primary clinics remains a priority. Studies of HIV in the aging population in Indonesia need to be conducted to understand the burden of geriatric syndrome.

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Mining Physicians’ Opinions on Social Media to Obtain Insights Into COVID-19: Mixed Methods Analysis (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.19276 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Abdullah Wahbeh ◽

Tareq Nasralah ◽

Mohammad Al-Ramahi ◽

Omar El-Gayar

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Social Media ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Qualitative Analysis ◽

Health Care Systems ◽

Supervised Machine Learning ◽

Machine Learning Techniques ◽

Medical Professionals ◽

Social Media Analytics ◽

Care Systems

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is considered to be the most daunting public health challenge in decades. With no effective treatments and with time needed to develop a vaccine, alternative approaches are being used to control this pandemic. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper was to identify topics, opinions, and recommendations about the COVID-19 pandemic discussed by medical professionals on the Twitter social medial platform. METHODS Using a mixed methods approach blending the capabilities of social media analytics and qualitative analysis, we analyzed COVID-19–related tweets posted by medical professionals and examined their content. We used qualitative analysis to explore the collected data to identify relevant tweets and uncover important concepts about the pandemic using qualitative coding. Unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques and text analysis were used to identify topics and opinions. RESULTS Data were collected from 119 medical professionals on Twitter about the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 10,096 English tweets were collected from the identified medical professionals between December 1, 2019 and April 1, 2020. We identified eight topics, namely actions and recommendations, fighting misinformation, information and knowledge, the health care system, symptoms and illness, immunity, testing, and infection and transmission. The tweets mainly focused on needed actions and recommendations (2827/10,096, 28%) to control the pandemic. Many tweets warned about misleading information (2019/10,096, 20%) that could lead to infection of more people with the virus. Other tweets discussed general knowledge and information (911/10,096, 9%) about the virus as well as concerns about the health care systems and workers (909/10,096, 9%). The remaining tweets discussed information about symptoms associated with COVID-19 (810/10,096, 8%), immunity (707/10,096, 7%), testing (605/10,096, 6%), and virus infection and transmission (503/10,096, 5%). CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that Twitter and social media platforms can help identify important and useful knowledge shared by medical professionals during a pandemic.

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