Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioids
Introduction. In the most recent year that data is available, 101,035 people died from drug overdoses in the United States. For people who use drugs, obtaining treatment remains a significant barrier due to issues of fear, stigmatisation, and illegality. Some people turn to the anonymous social medi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Borås
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Information Research: An International Electronic Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/565 |
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| _version_ | 1832544563598721024 |
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| author | Margaret Sullivan Jonah Hancock George Shaw Chaoqun Ni |
| author_facet | Margaret Sullivan Jonah Hancock George Shaw Chaoqun Ni |
| author_sort | Margaret Sullivan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction. In the most recent year that data is available, 101,035 people died from drug overdoses in the United States. For people who use drugs, obtaining treatment remains a significant barrier due to issues of fear, stigmatisation, and illegality. Some people turn to the anonymous social media site, Reddit, for obtaining health and harm reduction information.
Method. In this study we analysed 2,748 health-related posts on the subreddit r/opiates over a three-month period.
Analysis. Using a thematic analysis grounded in social constructivism, we categorised the data to determine the most frequent types of health questions asked by people who use opioids. We then used the text analysis software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to determine the emotional content of the posts.
Results. Most of the posts were asking about harm reduction strategies and methods to reduce or quit opioid use.
Conclusion. The text analysis demonstrated evidence of Foucault’s discourse theory. People who use opioids need more information on harm reduction strategies, and especially safely administering and withdrawing from them. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9e09c75e0a2844728b9100fb7481e5fe |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1368-1613 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | University of Borås |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Information Research: An International Electronic Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-9e09c75e0a2844728b9100fb7481e5fe2025-02-03T10:10:34ZengUniversity of BoråsInformation Research: An International Electronic Journal1368-16132024-06-0129210912510.47989/ir292565562Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioidsMargaret Sullivan0Jonah Hancock1George Shaw2Chaoqun Ni3The School of Information at Florida State UniversityThe School of Information at Florida State UniversityDepartment of Public Health Sciences, College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina at CharlotteThe Information School, University of Wisconsin-MadisonIntroduction. In the most recent year that data is available, 101,035 people died from drug overdoses in the United States. For people who use drugs, obtaining treatment remains a significant barrier due to issues of fear, stigmatisation, and illegality. Some people turn to the anonymous social media site, Reddit, for obtaining health and harm reduction information. Method. In this study we analysed 2,748 health-related posts on the subreddit r/opiates over a three-month period. Analysis. Using a thematic analysis grounded in social constructivism, we categorised the data to determine the most frequent types of health questions asked by people who use opioids. We then used the text analysis software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to determine the emotional content of the posts. Results. Most of the posts were asking about harm reduction strategies and methods to reduce or quit opioid use. Conclusion. The text analysis demonstrated evidence of Foucault’s discourse theory. People who use opioids need more information on harm reduction strategies, and especially safely administering and withdrawing from them.https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/565health information seekinghealth information needsonline social networksharm reductiondiscourse analysis |
| spellingShingle | Margaret Sullivan Jonah Hancock George Shaw Chaoqun Ni Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioids Information Research: An International Electronic Journal health information seeking health information needs online social networks harm reduction discourse analysis |
| title | Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioids |
| title_full | Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioids |
| title_fullStr | Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioids |
| title_full_unstemmed | Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioids |
| title_short | Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioids |
| title_sort | health information seeking on reddit by people who use opioids |
| topic | health information seeking health information needs online social networks harm reduction discourse analysis |
| url | https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/565 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT margaretsullivan healthinformationseekingonredditbypeoplewhouseopioids AT jonahhancock healthinformationseekingonredditbypeoplewhouseopioids AT georgeshaw healthinformationseekingonredditbypeoplewhouseopioids AT chaoqunni healthinformationseekingonredditbypeoplewhouseopioids |