Social media in the infertile community—using a text analysis tool to identify the topics of discussion on the multitude of infertility blogs

Abstract

Background: Infertility affects one in six couples. New digital resources exist which enable the study of lived experience of persons with infertility. Blogging represents a forum for sharing narratives and experiences. To provide high quality care for persons with a history of infertility, it is crucial to ascertain what they value as significant in their situation. Blogs with a focus on infertility may provide this information. Objectives: The aim of this study was to gain insight into which infertility-related issues are discussed on Swedish infertility blogs. Methods: In total, 70 infertility blogs were identified on the Internet and 25 met the inclusion criteria. A quantitative–qualitative content analysis was performed with the support of the Gavagai Explorer text analysis software. Results: A total of 4508 postings were retrieved from the blogs, all of which were written by women. The outcome of the analysis resulted into the following topics: Emotions (16.8%), Relations (12.5%), Time and waiting (7.1%), Body (6.6%), Care and treatment (4.2%), Food and diet (1.4%) and Exercise (0.5%). For most topics, there was a balance between positive and negative statements, but the body topic stood out by having more negative than positive sentiment. Conclusion: By considering the topics expressed in blogs, health care personnel are provided with an opportunity to better understand the situation of individuals affected by infertility.