Exploring Healthcare Opportunities in Online Social Networks: Depressive Moods of Users Captured in Twitter

See on Scoop.it – Health Care Social Media Monitor

Depression is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder in many developed countries. Despite increasing public knowledge and awareness, many individuals with depression go undetected and untreated. While public programs such as the National Depression Screening Day are an important step towards decreasing the prevalence of undiagnosed depression, their main limitation lies in the selection bias of people they can reach, because the programs are participation-oriented. In terms of reaching vulnerable individuals, one useful addition to existing screening methods is to utilize a large amount of content individuals share on online social networks. In Web sites like Facebook and Twitter, hundreds of millions of users across a wide demographic spectrum post their moods and thoughts in real-time. Data embedded in these sites hence provide a cost-effective way to study health behaviors from non-clinic-based populations.

See on www.medicine20congress.com