June 2021
Volume 62, Issue 8
Open Access
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   June 2021
Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know?
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Dagny Zhu
    NVISION Eye Centers, Rowland Heights, California, United States
  • Amisha Dave
    National Eye Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships   Dagny Zhu, None; Amisha Dave, None
  • Footnotes
    Support  None
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science June 2021, Vol.62, 2630. doi:
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      Dagny Zhu, Amisha Dave; Ophthalmology Inquiries on Reddit: What Should Physicians Know?. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2021;62(8):2630.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose : Patients are increasingly turning to social media to discuss personal medical questions. Despite being a popular social media site, Reddit has often been overlooked as a source of data on patient perspectives and concerns in the field of ophthalmology. We analyzed posts in the Ophthalmology subreddit, r/Ophthalmology, to better understand what conditions patients are talking about online and how often those who make posts are referred to different forms of medical care by commenters.

Methods : This cross-sectional study analyzed posts and their 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. Posts and comments that were deleted or removed on or prior to November 9, 2020 were not included. The text of posts and comments were analyzed for unique references to ophthalmic conditions from the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Eye Health A-Z through a keyword search. Additionally, this text was analyzed for mentions and recommendations to different types of medical care.

Results : A total of 919 posts were collected from the timeframe above. An auto-moderator makes a comment on every post to discourage patients from asking personal medical questions. Despite this, over two-thirds (612/919) of posts mentioned medical treatment for eye conditions in either a post, comment, or both. Within posts, flashes and floaters are the most common condition with 48/312 (15%) unique mentions followed by glaucoma (7.4%) and retinal detachment (6.7%) ( (Figure 1). Within comments, cataracts are the most common condition with 71/586 (12%) unique mentions followed by glaucoma (8.9%) (Figure 2). Almost half of all posts mention ophthalmology and 9% go as far as to recommend the poster seek ophthalmic care. One-third of posts have no mention or recommendation of any type of medical care (Figure 3).

Conclusions : 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. It is important for the vision community to understand what conditions patients are asking about online and how commenting patients respond to these posts to better educate all patients in the office.

This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.

 

The top 12 ophthalmic conditions mentioned in r/Ophthalmology posts.

The top 12 ophthalmic conditions mentioned in r/Ophthalmology posts.

 

Percentage of posts that reference different types medical care.

Percentage of posts that reference different types medical care.

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