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Nursing in the spotlight: Talk about nurses and the nursing profession on Twitter during the early COVID-19 pandemic
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Nursing in the spotlight: Talk about nurses and the nursing profession on Twitter during the early COVID-19 pandemic

Wendy R. Miller, Caeli Malloy, Michelle Mravec, Margaret F. Sposato and Doyle Groves
Nursing outlook, Vol.70(4), pp.580-589
07/01/2022
DOI: 10.1016/j.outlook.2022.02.009
PMID: 35428483

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Abstract

Background: Nurses comprise the largest portion of healthcare workers and are integral to the COVID-19 response. Twitter has become a popular platform for the public, including nurses, to engage in pandemic-related discourse. Purpose: We sought to analyze the representation of the nursing profession and characterize nurses’ experiences during the pandemic from tweets published in April 2020. Methods: We analyzed tweets using natural language processing, Word Adjacency Graph (WAG) Modeling, and thematic analysis. Authors independently reviewed 10% of raw tweets in each WAG-generated topic, qualitatively analyzed tweets, and identified emerging themes. Findings: Six themes emerged: Support and Recognition of Nurses, Military Metaphors, Superhuman/Spiritual Metaphors, Advocacy, Personal Experiences with Nurses, and Social/Political Commentary. Public perception of nurses was positive, but nurses conveyed harsh realities of their work. Discussion: Findings highlight discrepancies in nursing experiences and public perceptions of nursing. Further research should accurately identify and convey the complexities of the nursing profession.
Big Data COVID-19 Nursing Qualitative Twitter

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