@Article{info:doi/10.2196/26254,
author="Bacsu, Juanita-Dawne
and O'Connell, Megan E
and Cammer, Allison
and Azizi, Mahsa
and Grewal, Karl
and Poole, Lisa
and Green, Shoshana
and Sivananthan, Saskia
and Spiteri, Raymond J",
title="Using Twitter to Understand the COVID-19 Experiences of People With Dementia: Infodemiology Study",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2021",
month="Feb",
day="3",
volume="23",
number="2",
pages="e26254",
keywords="Twitter; social media; dementia; COVID-19; health policy; experience; support; disorder; theme; collaborate; quality of life",
abstract="Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people with dementia in numerous ways. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research on the COVID-19 impact on people with dementia and their care partners. Objective: Using Twitter, the purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of COVID-19 for people with dementia and their care partners. Methods: We collected tweets on COVID-19 and dementia using the GetOldTweets application in Python from February 15 to September 7, 2020. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the tweets. Results: From the 5063 tweets analyzed with line-by-line coding, we identified 4 main themes including (1) separation and loss; (2) COVID-19 confusion, despair, and abandonment; (3) stress and exhaustion exacerbation; and (4) unpaid sacrifices by formal care providers. Conclusions: There is an imminent need for governments to rethink using a one-size-fits-all response to COVID-19 policy and use a collaborative approach to support people with dementia. Collaboration and more evidence-informed research are essential to reducing COVID-19 mortality and improving the quality of life for people with dementia and their care partners. ",
issn="1438-8871",
doi="10.2196/26254",
url="https://www.jmir.org/2021/2/e26254",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/26254",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33468449"
}