Public health implications of #ShoutYourAbortion

Wasim Ahmed

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    19 Citations (Scopus)
    48 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Objectives
    Social media platforms such as Twitter allow members of the public to raise awareness for issues, causes and events. This study investigated the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion that was created to combat the stigma that can be associated with the medical procedure of abortion.

    Study design
    A mixed method and case study approach was used.

    Methods
    Twitter data were retrieved and analysed by social network analysis, a subset of tweets were qualitatively coded and the location of tweets was examined.

    Results
    It was found that a sizable group of users shared tweets denouncing the hashtag and the these users formed a cluster in themselves. The study also identified two narratives: anti-abortion and pro-abortion content.

    Conclusion
    The results have implications for public health organisations and agencies interested in devising digital health campaigns. That is, when devising health campaigns, it is essential to consider the tone of the campaign and whether it is likely to provoke citizens who may have opposing views. Moreover, future campaigns could communicate information surrounding the dangers of unsafe abortions and the broad spectrum of reasons that women may seek abortion, for example, when the child and/or mothers health is at risk.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)35-41
    Number of pages7
    JournalPublic Health
    Volume163
    Early online date27 Jul 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2018

    Keywords

    • Abortion
    • Twitter
    • Social networks
    • Hashtags

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