HPV vaccine on social media (Sina Weibo) in China: How was the information presented and what were the reactions from the public (Student-Led Paper).

One HPV vaccine was approved this July in China, which caused wide attention and discussion on social media Weibo. This study systematically analyzed information posted on Weibo to learn both the media discourse and public's reactions on this HPV vaccine. A content analysis was conducted on 382 posts. The posts were analyzed with respect to message source, tone, format, number of reposts, and information specific to HPV vaccine. Correlations between the aforementioned variables were also examined. The results showed a neutral or positive tone toward HPV vaccine in general, however, 30.8% of messages from individual sources hold a negative tone. Statistics was the most often used format. Comprehensive information on HPV vaccine, HPV and cervical cancer were presented by most of the messages (60%). However, the accuracy and effectiveness were lacking in half of the messages. The average numbers of reposts were 1083 and 8580 for individual and organizational sources. Higher numbers of reposts were associated with neutral tone, statistics format and complete and accurate descriptions for messages from individual sources. This relationship, however, didn't exist for messages from organizational sources. Health practitioners should pay attention to the inaccurate and ineffective issues of online information about HPV vaccine, especially when it is from organizational sources since it is highly disseminated without much scrutiny from online users. Moreover, when utilizing interpersonal source to disseminate health information, a neutral tone with complete and accurate account might be disseminated more widely at the current stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]