"Coronavirus could kill me #StayHomeSaveLives": A content and sentiment analysis of tweets by people with arthritis during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests that people with arthritis are reporting increased physical pain and psychological distress during COVID-19. At the same time, Twitter's daily usage has surged by 23% throughout COVID-19, presenting a unique opportunity to assess the content and sentiment of tweets. Individuals with arthritis use Twitter to communicate with peers, and to receive up-to-date information from health professionals and services about novel therapies and management techniques. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to identify proxy topics of importance for individuals with arthritis during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to explore the emotional context of tweets by people with arthritis during the early phase of the pandemic. METHODS: Publicly available tweets posted in English and with hashtag combinations related to arthritis and COVID-19 were extracted retrospectively in Twitter from March 20-April 20, 2020. Content analysis was used to identify common themes within tweets, and sentiment analysis was used to examine themes for positive and/or negative emotion to facilitate interpretation of COVID-19 experiences of people with arthritis. RESULTS: One hundred and forty nine tweets were analysed. The majority of tweeters were female and from the United States. Tweeters reported a range of arthritis conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and psoriatic arthritis. Seven themes were identified: healthcare experiences, personal stories, links to relevant blogs, discussion of arthritis-related symptoms, advice sharing, messages of positivity, and stay-at-home messaging. Sentiment analysis demonstrated marked anxiety around medication shortages, increased physical symptom burden, and strong desire for trustworthy information and emotional connection. CONCLUSIONS: Tweets by people with arthritis highlight the multitude of concurrent concerns during COVID-19. Understanding these concerns, which include heightened physical and psychological symptoms on a background of treatment misinformation, may assist clinicians to provide person-centred care during this time of great health uncertainty.