World Gynecologic Oncology Day: the use of Twitter to raise awareness of gynecologic cancers

Abstract

Background: Social media provides an opportunity for people to connect and form communities. This community architecture can help to disseminate health-related information in the form of an awareness campaign. The European Society of Gynaecological Oncology and the European Network of Gynaecological Cancer Advocacy Groups initiated a global campaign, World Gynecologic Oncology Day, on September 20, 2020. We studied and analyzed the impact and reach of this Twitter campaign. Objective: This study aimed to assess the impact and reach of the 2020 World Gynecologic Oncology Day Twitter campaign. Study Design: We analyzed gynecologic oncology–specific posts (tweets) between 12 am on September 17, 2020, to 11:59 pm on September 25, 2020 (Coordinated Universal Time), covering the days immediately before and after World Gynecological Oncology Day (September 20, 2020), using Tweepy. The European Network of Gynecological Cancer Advocacy Groups suggested hashtags (#GoForPurple, #WorldGODay, and #GoForCheckup) should be used for this social media campaign. We used these hashtags for our data (tweet) collection. Results: A total of 382 Twitter accounts participated in this campaign and 662 tweets, including retweets, were reported. Of those, 22% of participants were healthcare professionals. A total of 164 unique hashtags were identified, and #WorldGODay was the most frequently used among the Twitter accounts. #VaginalCancer, #CervicalCancer, and #VulvarCancer were used in relation to the campaign. We identified 5 significant communities that contributed to raising awareness. Conclusion: Twitter campaigns should be designed around a single, short, easy-to-spell hashtag and coordinated with previously identified influential accounts using timed tweets. #WorldGOday hashtag was relevant, easy to spell, memorable, and the most effective hashtag used in this campaign.