Primary Market Research, IQVIA, Via Fabio Filzi 29, Milan, 20124, Italy.
Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Festa del Perdono 7, Milan, 20122, Italy.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Nov 28;24(1):3316. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20615-5.
Web discussions on health issues are becoming very relevant in the general public. In this context, little information is available regarding cardiovascular diseases, which remain the first cause of morbidity, disability and mortality worldwide. The central objective of the study was to conduct a Web listening analysis on discussions about cardiovascular diseases in Italy, comparing the data relative to the 2-year pre-COVID-19 pandemic period with those collected during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown (March-July 2020), with quantification of conversations on cardiovascular disease and Web-based discussions and specific evaluation of COVID-19 lockdown impact.
A retrospective Web listening analysis using publicly available data was conducted, using validated methods that allow to estimate cardiovascular disease awareness. Digital sources were identified to retrieve data (Italian language), relevant to cardiovascular disease topics. Data were analysed by Google Trends methodology and the Digital Intelligence Platform Brandwatch. Natural Language Processing algorithms enabled comparative analysis, topic detection, classification, leading to a 279,790-item dataset.
News channels and Twitter were the most important platforms feeding cardiovascular disease information. Facebook was mostly relevant for information sharing. In the pre-COVID-19 period, cardiovascular disease ranked 5th among main health issues (vaccines, tumors, influenza, diabetes) on the Web, and the most discussed cardiovascular disease themes were symptoms/diagnosis (34%), treatments (20%), disease causes/triggers (11%), disease information (9%), quality of life (8%). Conversations on cardiovascular disease prevention were marginal (5%). The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown strongly impacted on discussed topics; novel themes emerged: hospitalization, death risk/occurrence, greater cardiovascular disease risk. Discussions on cardiovascular disease prevention remained marginal (4%). COVID-19 pandemic increased fear of severe COVID-19 among patients with cardiovascular disease and worsened quality of relationship/contact with physicians.
A limited awareness of cardiovascular disease and their prevention was observed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients/caregivers need more information and contact with physicians, as it emerged during COVID-19 pandemic. It is urgent to promote novel prevention strategies and to engage people leveraging digital channels and social media.
健康问题的网络讨论在普通大众中变得非常重要。在这方面，关于心血管疾病的信息很少，而心血管疾病仍然是全世界发病率、残疾和死亡率的第一大原因。本研究的主要目的是对意大利的心血管疾病网络讨论进行网络监听分析，将大流行前 2 年（2019 年 12 月至 2020 年 2 月）的数据与 COVID-19 大流行封锁期间（2020 年 3 月至 7 月）的数据进行比较，量化心血管疾病相关的网络讨论，并对 COVID-19 封锁的影响进行具体评估。
使用已验证的方法进行回顾性网络监听分析，这些方法可以评估心血管疾病的认知度。确定数字来源以检索与心血管疾病主题相关的数据（意大利语）。使用 Google Trends 方法和 Digital Intelligence Platform Brandwatch 分析数据。自然语言处理算法支持比较分析、主题检测和分类，生成了 279790 项数据集。
新闻频道和 Twitter 是提供心血管疾病信息的最重要平台。Facebook 主要用于信息共享。在 COVID-19 之前，心血管疾病在网络上的主要健康问题（疫苗、肿瘤、流感、糖尿病）中排名第 5 位，讨论最多的心血管疾病主题是症状/诊断（34%）、治疗（20%）、疾病原因/诱因（11%）、疾病信息（9%）、生活质量（8%）。心血管疾病预防的讨论微不足道（5%）。COVID-19 大流行封锁对讨论的主题产生了强烈影响；出现了新的主题：住院、死亡风险/发生、更大的心血管疾病风险。心血管疾病预防的讨论仍然微不足道（4%）。COVID-19 大流行增加了心血管疾病患者对严重 COVID-19 的恐惧，并恶化了与医生的关系/联系质量。
在 COVID-19 大流行之前和期间，人们对心血管疾病及其预防的认识有限。患者/照顾者需要更多的信息和与医生的联系，这在 COVID-19 大流行期间已经显现出来。迫切需要通过利用数字渠道和社交媒体来推广新的预防策略并让人们参与进来。
