Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Perioperative Medicine
Date Submitted: Apr 5, 2021
Date Accepted: Sep 30, 2021
How do Instagram users discuss bariatric surgery?: A successive sampling study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The majority of American adults search for health and illness information online. However, the quality and accuracy of this information are notoriously varied. With the advent of social media, U.S. individuals increasingly share their own health and illness experiences, including those related to bariatric surgery. Previous research has found that peer-to-peer requesting and giving of advice related to bariatric surgery on social media is commonplace, that such advice is often presented in stark terms, and that it may not reflect patient standards of care. These previous investigations have helped to map Facebook and YouTube bariatric surgery content.
Objective:
To address a dearth of research on bariatric surgery content on Instagram we sought to describe posts on this platform.
Methods:
We analyzed a total of 300 Instagram posts (50 posts per week for 3 consecutive weeks in late February and early March in both 2020 and 2021) uploaded using the hashtag #wls. Descriptive statistics were reported, and independent one-tailed chi-square tests were used to determine if a post’s publication year statistically affected its inclusion of a particular content characteristic.
Results:
Overall, advice-giving, and personal responsibility for outcomes were emphasized by WLS posters on Instagram. However, social support was less emphasized. The safety, challenges, and risks associated with WLS were rarely discussed. The majority of posts did not contain facts. Posts in 2021 were more likely to highlight challenges associated with bariatric surgery but less likely to emphasize either intrapersonal or clinical means of addressing those challenges.
Conclusions:
Given that the bariatric patients have low rates of post-operative follow-up yet post-operative care and yet support are associated with improved health and weight loss outcomes and given that online health content is of mixed accuracy, bariatric professionals may wish to consider the routine use of telehealth for ongoing patient care in post-pandemic times. Doing so may not only improve follow-up rates but can offer providers the opportunity to counter inaccuracies encountered on social media. Clinical Trial: N/A
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