‘I'm glad my baby has weaned so I don't need to make that decision.’ Understanding breastfeeding-related COVID-19 vaccine narratives on social media

IF 1.4 4区医学 Q3 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH Health Promotion Journal of Australia Pub Date : 2025-03-11 DOI:10.1002/hpja.946

Becky K. White, Sharyn K. Burns, Jennie Carson, Jane A. Scott

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Abstract

Issue Addressed

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the infodemic has been highly visible. Vaccine-related advice and evidence-based guidelines for breastfeeding women have lagged, and, at times have been contradictory and confusing. Breastfeeding is an important public health issue with long-lasting health benefits for infants and mothers. This online social listening study aimed to understand breastfeeding-related narratives on social media during the early stages of the Australian COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.

Methods

Public content about breastfeeding and COVID-19 vaccines from Facebook pages with Australian-based administrators were accessed via the CrowdTangle platform. All related content posted between 1 December 2020–31 December 2021 was included. Content (n = 29 567) was coded to an adapted vaccine narrative typology, and emergent themes were inductively identified.

Results

Most posts were promoting, sharing or discussing reliable information. However, the comments responding to these posts varied more widely. Several consistent questions, concerns, and information voids were evident, and misinformation and conflicting information contributed to confusion and challenges with decision-making.

Conclusions

These findings highlight the complexities associated with decision-making. Pregnant and breastfeeding women continue to be a priority group for vaccination, yet there were gaps in data, evidence and information. Incorporating social listening and infodemic management into public health work is important.

So What?

Information voids, when identified early, can help inform public health messaging. Increasing social listening and infodemic training and skills in the health promotion workforce can help build future capacity and give insight into optimising public health communication and addressing misinformation.

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问题讨论在冠状病毒病 2019 年（COVID-19）大流行期间，信息疫情备受关注。针对哺乳期妇女的疫苗相关建议和循证指南滞后，有时甚至相互矛盾，令人困惑。母乳喂养是一个重要的公共卫生问题，对婴儿和母亲的健康有着长期的益处。这项在线社交聆听研究旨在了解澳大利亚 COVID-19 疫苗推广初期社交媒体上与母乳喂养相关的叙述。方法我们通过 CrowdTangle 平台访问了有澳大利亚管理员的 Facebook 页面上有关母乳喂养和 COVID-19 疫苗的公开内容。纳入了 2020 年 12 月 1 日至 2021 年 12 月 31 日期间发布的所有相关内容。对内容（n = 29 567）按照改编的疫苗叙事类型进行编码，并归纳出新出现的主题。结果大多数帖子都在宣传、分享或讨论可靠的信息。然而，针对这些帖子的评论却大相径庭。一些一致的问题、担忧和信息空白显而易见，错误信息和相互矛盾的信息造成了决策的混乱和挑战。结论这些发现凸显了与决策相关的复杂性。孕妇和哺乳期妇女仍然是疫苗接种的优先群体，但在数据、证据和信息方面存在差距。将社会倾听和信息管理纳入公共卫生工作非常重要。及早发现信息空白有助于为公共卫生信息提供依据。在健康促进工作队伍中加强社会倾听和信息流的培训和技能，有助于建设未来的能力，并为优化公共卫生传播和应对错误信息提供洞察力。

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来源期刊

Health Promotion Journal of Australia PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

3.10

自引率

10.50%

发文量

115

期刊介绍： The purpose of the Health Promotion Journal of Australia is to facilitate communication between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers involved in health promotion activities. Preference for publication is given to practical examples of policies, theories, strategies and programs which utilise educational, organisational, economic and/or environmental approaches to health promotion. The journal also publishes brief reports discussing programs, professional viewpoints, and guidelines for practice or evaluation methodology. The journal features articles, brief reports, editorials, perspectives, "of interest", viewpoints, book reviews and letters.