A NEW ERA OF SEEKING KNOWLEDGE FOR #LYMPHEDEMA ON SOCIAL MEDIA: A DETAILED INSTAGRAM HASHTAG ANALYSIS

Abstract

Instagram® is one of the most active
social media platforms with over a billion users
worldwide. Since the importance of education
on lymphedema has been established due to the
chronic nature of the disease, seeking knowledge
attracts much attention not only clinically
but also on social platforms such as Instagram
®. Our aim was to examine content by
analyzing posts tagged with hashtags on Instagram
® related to lymphedema. Nine predefined
hashtags related to lymphedema were used to
search posts uploaded to Instagram® via the
Apify tool. Retrieved public posts were classified
and analyzed by four researchers for their
content and post-type. We found that the vast
majority of sharing on Instagram® in the
context of lymphedema and its related aspects
have relatively low scores for both relevancy
and accuracy with a 77% irrelevancy rate. The
best posts were those determined to be educational,
which were found 57% relevant and
correct. Medical professionals should consider
that disseminating true guidance and therapy
carries importance for patients with lymphedema
and treatment success. The ability for
patients to reach knowledge via social media
might also be an important aspect in reliving
suffering due to lymphedema. However, our
results demonstrate that Instagram® might not
be a good platform for patients to discover
reliable information about lymphedema.