Previously submitted to: JMIR Formative Research (no longer under consideration since Jul 07, 2023)
Date Submitted: Nov 7, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Public Perceptions and Experiences of Cancelled Surgeries Due to COVID-19: Twitter Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Elective procedures throughout the United States have been deferred in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and treat critically ill patients. The impact of such widespread cancellations on patient well-being is not well understood.
Objective:
In this study, we characterize collective perceptions and experiences related to cancelled surgeries due to COVID-19.
Methods:
The top 200 Twitter posts with the keyword “cancelled surgery” were collected and qualitatively analyzed to identify public attitudes, beliefs, and outcomes.
Results:
Patients whose surgeries have been cancelled experience pain and disease progression. Anger and despair arise from long waiting periods and insufficient communication with surgeons, whereas optimism derives from a willingness to reallocate resources for the wider public good. Disagreement with surgical prioritization may stem from gaps in public understanding regarding risk-stratification.
Conclusions:
As elective cases resume, monitoring real-time developments in public opinion and consequences of deferred care will inform best practices in patient communication.
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