UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Australian social media sentiment data and domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic

Usher, K; Durkin, J; Martin, S; Vanderslott, S; Vindrola-Padros, C; Usher, L; Jackson, D; (2021) Australian social media sentiment data and domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) 10.2196/29025. Green open access

[thumbnail of Vindrola-Padros_Australian social media sentiment data and domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.pdf]
Preview
Text
Vindrola-Padros_Australian social media sentiment data and domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.pdf - Published Version

Download (515kB) | Preview

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Measuring public response during COVID-19 is an important way of ensuring the suitability and effectiveness of epidemic response efforts. An analysis of social media provides an approximation to public sentiment during an emergency like the current pandemic. The measures introduced across the globe to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus have led to the development of a situation labelled as a 'perfect storm', triggering a wave of domestic violence. As people use social media to communicate their experiences, analyzing public discourse and sentiment on social platforms offers a way to understand concerns and issues related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: This study was based on an analysis of public discourse and sentiment related to domestic violence during the stay-at-home periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia in 2020. It aimed to understand the more personal self-reported experiences, emotions and reactions towards domestic violence, that were not always classified/collected by official public bodies during the pandemic. METHODS: We searched social media posts in Australia using key terms related to domestic violence and COVID-19 during 2020 using digital analytics tools to determine sentiments related to domestic violence during this period. RESULTS: The study showed that the use of sentiment and discourse analysis to assess social media data is useful in measuring the public expression of feelings and sharing of resources in relation to the otherwise personal experience of domestic violence. Heightened awareness of this could help agencies tailor and target messaging to maximize impact. Negative or neutral sentiment centered on the sharp rise in domestic violence during different lockdown periods of the 2020 pandemic with neutral to positive sentiment centered around praise of efforts to raise awareness of domestic as well as the positive actions of domestic violence charities and support groups in their campaigns. There were calls for positive and proactive handling (rather than a mishandling of) of the pandemic and results indicated a high level of public discontent related to the rising rates of the violence and the lack of services during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided a timely understanding of public sentiment related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in Australia using social media analysis. Social media represents an important avenue for dissemination of information that can be widely dispersed and easily accessed by a range of different communities who are often difficult to reach. Improved understanding of these issues is important for future policy direction. CLINICALTRIAL:

Type: Article
Title: Australian social media sentiment data and domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic
Location: Canada
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.2196/29025
Publisher version: https://www.jmir.org/2021/10/e29025
Language: English
Additional information: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci > Department of Targeted Intervention
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10135856
Downloads since deposit
106Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item