Ng Qin Xiang, Lim Yu Liang, Xin Xiaohui, Ong Clarence, Ng Wee Khoon, Thumboo Julian, Tan Hiang Khoon
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
Health Services Research Unit, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Jul 16;24(1):1904. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19381-1.
There is sustained interest in understanding the perspectives of liver transplant recipients and living donors, with several qualitative studies shedding light on this emotionally charged subject. However, these studies have relied primarily on traditional semi-structured interviews, which, while valuable, come with inherent limitations. Consequently, there remains a gap in our comprehension of the broader public discourse surrounding living liver donation. This study aims to bridge this gap by delving into public conversations related to living liver donation through a qualitative analysis of Twitter (now X) posts, offering a fresh perspective on this critical issue.
To compile a comprehensive dataset, we extracted original tweets containing the hashtags "#donateliver" OR "#liverdonor", all posted in English from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2022. We then selected tweets from individual users whose Twitter (X) accounts featured authentic human names, ensuring the credibility of our data. Employing Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis approach, the study investigators read and analysed the included tweets, identifying two main themes and six subthemes. The Health Policy Triangle framework was applied to understand the roles of different stakeholders involved in the discourse and suggest areas for policy improvement.
A total of 361 unique tweets from individual users were analysed. The major theme that emerged was the persistent shortage of liver donors, underscoring the desperation faced by individuals in need of life-saving liver transplants and the urgency of addressing the organ shortage problem. The second theme delved into the experiences of liver donors post-surgery, shedding light on a variety of aspects related to the transplantation process, including the visibility of surgical scars, and the significance of returning to physical activity and exercise post-surgery.
The multifaceted experiences of individuals involved in the transplantation process, both recipients and donors, should be further studied in our efforts to improve the critical shortage of liver donors.
人们一直对了解肝移植受者和活体供者的观点保持着浓厚兴趣，多项定性研究为这一充满情感的主题提供了见解。然而，这些研究主要依赖传统的半结构化访谈，虽然很有价值，但也存在固有的局限性。因此，我们对围绕活体肝捐赠的更广泛公众话语的理解仍存在差距。本研究旨在通过对推特（现称X）帖子进行定性分析，深入研究与活体肝捐赠相关的公众对话，从而填补这一差距，为这一关键问题提供新的视角。
为了编制一个全面的数据集，我们提取了2012年1月1日至2022年12月31日期间发布的、包含“#donateliver”或“#liverdonor”标签的英文原创推文。然后，我们从推特（X）账户使用真实人名的个人用户中挑选推文，以确保数据的可信度。研究人员采用布劳恩和克拉克的反思性主题分析方法，阅读并分析所纳入的推文，确定了两个主要主题和六个子主题。应用健康政策三角框架来理解参与讨论的不同利益相关者的角色，并提出政策改进的领域。
共分析了来自个人用户的361条独特推文。出现的主要主题是肝供体的持续短缺，凸显了急需肝移植的个人所面临的绝望以及解决器官短缺问题的紧迫性。第二个主题深入探讨了肝供体术后的经历，揭示了与移植过程相关的多个方面，包括手术疤痕的可见性以及术后恢复体力活动和锻炼的重要性。
在努力改善肝供体严重短缺的问题时，应进一步研究参与移植过程的个人（包括受者和供者）的多方面经历。
