Examining the Twitter Discourse on Dementia During Alzheimer's Awareness Month in Canada: Infodemiology Study

Juanita-Dawne Bacsu; Allison Cammer; Soheila Ahmadi; Mehrnoosh Azizi; Karl S Grewal; Shoshana Green; Rory Gowda-Sookochoff; Corinne Berger; Sheida Knight; Raymond J Spiteri; Megan E O'Connell

doi:10.2196/40049

Examining the Twitter Discourse on Dementia During Alzheimer's Awareness Month in Canada: Infodemiology Study

JMIR Form Res. 2022 Oct 26;6(10):e40049. doi: 10.2196/40049.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
² College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
³ Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.

PMID: 36287605
PMCID: PMC9647466
DOI: 10.2196/40049

Abstract

Background: Twitter has become a primary platform for public health campaigns, ranging from mental health awareness week to diabetes awareness month. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about how Twitter is being used during health campaigns, especially for Alzheimer's Awareness Month.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to examine dementia discourse during Canada's Alzheimer's Awareness Month in January to inform future awareness campaigns.

Methods: We collected 1289 relevant tweets using the Twint application in Python from January 1 to January 31, 2022. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

Results: Guided by our analysis, 4 primary themes were identified: dementia education and advocacy, fundraising and promotion, experiences of dementia, and opportunities for future actions.

Conclusions: Although our study identified many educational, promotional, and fundraising tweets to support dementia awareness, we also found numerous tweets with cursory messaging (ie, simply referencing January as Alzheimer's Awareness Month in Canada). While these tweets promoted general awareness, they also highlight an opportunity for targeted educational content to counter stigmatizing messages and misinformation about dementia. In addition, awareness strategies partnering with diverse stakeholders (such as celebrities, social media influencers, and people living with dementia and their care partners) may play a pivotal role in fostering dementia dialogue and education. Further research is needed to develop, implement, and evaluate dementia awareness strategies on Twitter. Increased knowledge, partnerships, and research are essential to enhancing dementia awareness during Canada's Alzheimer's Awareness Month and beyond.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease; Twitter; awareness; dementia; public health campaigns; social media.

©Juanita-Dawne Bacsu, Allison Cammer, Soheila Ahmadi, Mehrnoosh Azizi, Karl S Grewal, Shoshana Green, Rory Gowda-Sookochoff, Corinne Berger, Sheida Knight, Raymond J Spiteri, Megan E O'Connell. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 26.10.2022.