JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a disruption in normal brain function caused by external forces to the head or skull. The fencing response is a reflexive posturing of the limbs that can occur in individuals who sustain a TBI. Since the publication of the original peer-reviewed article on the fencing response in 2009, there have been efforts to raise awareness of the fencing response as a visible sign of TBI through publicly available online platforms, such as Twitter and Wikipedia.

Objective:

The objective of the study was to demonstrate levels of public awareness of the fencing response using data from Twitter and Wikipedia.

Methods:

Raw Twitter data from 01/01/2010 – 12/31/2019 were accessed using the RStudio package academictwitteR and queried for the text ‘fencing response’. Data for page views of the Fencing Response Wikipedia article from 01/01/2010 – 12/31/2019 were accessed using the RStudio packages wikipediatrend and pageviews. Data were clustered by weekday, month, half-year, and year to identify trends over time.

Results:

Twitter mentions of the fencing response and Wikipedia page views increased overall from 2010 through 2019. Twitter mentions peaked during the American football season, especially on and following Sunday game days. Wikipedia page views did not demonstrate a clear seasonal pattern, but instead had multiple peaks across various months and years.

Conclusions:

Use of Twitter and Wikipedia has increased public awareness of the fencing response and demonstrates the potential impact of effective science communication outlets, with over one million views of the Fencing Response Wikipedia article. Greater awareness of the fencing response as a “red-flag” sign of TBI among coaches, athletic trainers, and sports organizations has the potential to help with medical care and return-to-play decisions.