Systematic review on the prevalence, frequency and comparative value of adverse events data in social media

Golder, Su, Norman, Gill and Loke, Yoon K (2015) Systematic review on the prevalence, frequency and comparative value of adverse events data in social media. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 80 (4). pp. 878-888. ISSN 0306-5251

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Abstract

Aim: The aim of this review was to summarize the prevalence, frequency and comparative value of information on the adverse events of healthcare interventions from user comments and videos in social media. Methods: A systematic review of assessments of the prevalence or type of information on adverse events in social media was undertaken. Sixteen databases and two internet search engines were searched in addition to handsearching, reference checking and contacting experts. The results were sifted independently by two researchers. Data extraction and quality assessment were carried out by one researcher and checked by a second. The quality assessment tool was devised in-house and a narrative synthesis of the results followed. Results: From 3064 records, 51 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies assessed over 174 social media sites with discussion forums (71%) being the most popular. The overall prevalence of adverse events reports in social media varied from 0.2% to 8% of posts. Twenty-nine studies compared the results from searching social media with using other data sources to identify adverse events. There was general agreement that a higher frequency of adverse events was found in social media and that this was particularly true for ‘symptom’ related and ‘mild’ adverse events. Those adverse events that were under-represented in social media were laboratory-based and serious adverse events. Conclusions: Reports of adverse events are identifiable within social media. However, there is considerable heterogeneity in the frequency and type of events reported, and the reliability or validity of the data has not been thoroughly evaluated.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	adverse drug reactions,adverse effects,adverse events,pharmacovigilance,social media,systematic review
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Services and Primary Care Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	19 Dec 2015 07:20
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2024 14:53
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/55806
DOI:	10.1111/bcp.12746

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