Awareness about Genitourinary Cancer in North Africa – Social Listening Analytics

European Urology Open Science Congress, Abstract P273

Event: EMUC23 - 15th European Multidisciplinary Congress on Urological Cancers

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Introduction & Objectives

Social media listening helps in gathering insights from patients’ and healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) which can be further used to identify gaps in training for HCPs, understand the impact on quality of life (QOL) and even the design of clinical trials. A social analytics study was hence conducted to assess the trends in social media conversations on Genitourinary cancers to better understand patient awareness.

Materials & Methods

Publicly visible online conversations (in Arabic, English and French) about GU cancer between November 1, 2018, and March 31, 2023, from 6 North African countries were analyzed using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies hosted by Brandwatch.

Results

A total of 6.2 thousand conversations were analyzed which included 2.2 thousand patient discussions. About 76% of patient conversations originated from Egypt, followed by Morocco (10 %) and Algeria (8%).  81% were hosted on Twitter and English was the most widely used language (~60%), followed by Arabic (39%). Male authors accounted for approximatly double the number of female ones. Symptoms of GU cancer was the most popular topic followed by Screening/diagnosis with many stressing the importance of early detection. Social life and personal life ranked 3rd and 4th respectively and focused on how GU cancer and cancer diagnostics have impacted patients’ QOL with mentions of challenges in participating in social activities, coping with the emotional and psychological effects of the diagnosis and the life adjustments needed to accommodate the illness. Majority of patients were reluctant to share about their conditions. Family and friends used social media to express grief and ask for moral or financial support for their loved ones. Patients brought attention to the potential role of diet in managing GU Cancers. Vasectomy was a briefly discussed topic among patients with sharing various myths and misconceptions. Content aiming at raising awareness for men’s health issues such as Movember was shared by patients and organizations. HCPs leveraged social media to disseminate information including case studies and educational content on current and upcoming therapies which was retweeted by patients and providers. 

Conclusions

The findings shows that majority of conversations revolved around symptoms, diagnosis/screening, and the impact on QOL. Patients are receptive towards learning more about GU cancer on social media channels which can be leveraged to educate patients, raise awareness, especially among at risk population, and correct the misconceptions that they might have on the disease.