Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know?
Amisha D Dave,1 Dagny Zhu2 1University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA; 2NVISION Eye Centers, Rowland Heights, CA, USACorrespondence: Amisha D Dave, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA, Tel +1 203-903-2625, Email amishad...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Dove Medical Press
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Clinical Ophthalmology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/ophthalmology-inquiries-on-reddit-what-should-physicians-know-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OPTH |
| _version_ | 1797999025462444032 |
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| author | Dave AD Zhu D |
| author_facet | Dave AD Zhu D |
| author_sort | Dave AD |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Amisha D Dave,1 Dagny Zhu2 1University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA; 2NVISION Eye Centers, Rowland Heights, CA, USACorrespondence: Amisha D Dave, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA, Tel +1 203-903-2625, Email amishadave@gmail.comPurpose: Patients are seeking answers to personal medical questions on social media. Reddit, a popular social media site, has been overlooked as a source of data in the field of ophthalmology. We analyzed posts in the subreddit, r/Ophthalmology, to better understand the most common ophthalmic conditions patients are discussing online and how often those making posts are being advised to seek professional medical care.Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed posts and comments from March 18, 2018 to November 9, 2020. All posts and comments on r/Ophthalmology are public and were accessed using the Python Reddit API Wrapper. This text was analyzed for unique references to common ophthalmic conditions and for mentions and recommendations to different types of medical care.Results: Nine hundred and nineteen posts were collected from the above timeframe. An auto-moderator makes a comment on every post to discourage patients from asking personal medical questions. Despite this, over two-thirds of posts discussed medical treatment for eye conditions in either a post, comment, or both. Almost half of all posts mention “ophthalmology”, but only 9% go as far as to recommend ophthalmic care. One-third of posts have no reference to medical care. Within posts, flashes and floaters were the most common condition mentioned, making up 15% of unique mentions, followed by glaucoma (7.4%) and retinal detachments (6.7%). Within comments, cataracts were most commonly discussed, making up 12% of unique mentions, followed by glaucoma (8.9%).Conclusion: These findings show that patients are seeking information about their eye health on the r/Ophthalmology subreddit and that Reddit users are engaging with these types of posts, instead of recommending professional care in most cases. It is important for ophthalmologists to recognize the most common conditions patients are asking about online and learn how they can do a better job of educating their patients in the office.Keywords: Reddit, social media, ophthalmology, subreddit, patient education, common conditions |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:58:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e1dc627033504ca8ab4f6ffd20b11618 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1177-5483 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:58:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Clinical Ophthalmology |
| spelling | doaj.art-e1dc627033504ca8ab4f6ffd20b116182022-12-22T04:28:43ZengDove Medical PressClinical Ophthalmology1177-54832022-08-01Volume 162923293177824Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know?Dave ADZhu DAmisha D Dave,1 Dagny Zhu2 1University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA; 2NVISION Eye Centers, Rowland Heights, CA, USACorrespondence: Amisha D Dave, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA, Tel +1 203-903-2625, Email amishadave@gmail.comPurpose: Patients are seeking answers to personal medical questions on social media. Reddit, a popular social media site, has been overlooked as a source of data in the field of ophthalmology. We analyzed posts in the subreddit, r/Ophthalmology, to better understand the most common ophthalmic conditions patients are discussing online and how often those making posts are being advised to seek professional medical care.Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed posts and comments from March 18, 2018 to November 9, 2020. All posts and comments on r/Ophthalmology are public and were accessed using the Python Reddit API Wrapper. This text was analyzed for unique references to common ophthalmic conditions and for mentions and recommendations to different types of medical care.Results: Nine hundred and nineteen posts were collected from the above timeframe. An auto-moderator makes a comment on every post to discourage patients from asking personal medical questions. Despite this, over two-thirds of posts discussed medical treatment for eye conditions in either a post, comment, or both. Almost half of all posts mention “ophthalmology”, but only 9% go as far as to recommend ophthalmic care. One-third of posts have no reference to medical care. Within posts, flashes and floaters were the most common condition mentioned, making up 15% of unique mentions, followed by glaucoma (7.4%) and retinal detachments (6.7%). Within comments, cataracts were most commonly discussed, making up 12% of unique mentions, followed by glaucoma (8.9%).Conclusion: These findings show that patients are seeking information about their eye health on the r/Ophthalmology subreddit and that Reddit users are engaging with these types of posts, instead of recommending professional care in most cases. It is important for ophthalmologists to recognize the most common conditions patients are asking about online and learn how they can do a better job of educating their patients in the office.Keywords: Reddit, social media, ophthalmology, subreddit, patient education, common conditionshttps://www.dovepress.com/ophthalmology-inquiries-on-reddit-what-should-physicians-know-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OPTHredditsocial mediaophthalmologysubredditpatient educationcommon conditions |
| spellingShingle | Dave AD Zhu D Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know? Clinical Ophthalmology social media ophthalmology subreddit patient education common conditions |
| title | Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know? |
| title_full | Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know? |
| title_fullStr | Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know? |
| title_short | Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know? |
| title_sort | ophthalmology inquiries on reddit what should physicians know |
| topic | reddit social media ophthalmology subreddit patient education common conditions |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/ophthalmology-inquiries-on-reddit-what-should-physicians-know-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OPTH |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davead ophthalmologyinquiriesonredditwhatshouldphysiciansknow AT zhud ophthalmologyinquiriesonredditwhatshouldphysiciansknow |