Type 1 diabetes in Twitter: who all listen to?

Abstract

Knowing what the conversation on Twitter regarding type 1 diabetes (T1D) is about can help in understanding the kind of information relevant to the individuals affected by the disease. The profile of Twitter users posting on T1D was collected and classified. The number of re-tweets was also registered. The tweets posted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), communication media, and individuals affected by T1D had higher number of potential readers. More than a half of the tweets were posted by individuals affected by T1D, and their tweets were the most re-tweeted. The next most active users were NGOs and healthcare professionals. However, while tweets soliciting for research funds posted by the NGOs were the next most re-tweeted messages, tweets posted by healthcare professionals were the least re-tweeted. Twitter could be used more actively by healthcare professionals to disseminate correct information about T1D.