TY - JOUR

T1 - Network analysis of the social media activities around the #TeleCheckAF project

AU - Betz, Konstanze

AU - Van Haren, Joep

AU - Duncker, David

AU - Manninger, Martin

AU - Lemmink, Jos

AU - Linz, Dominik

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Aims TeleCheck-AF is a novel remote on-demand mobile health infrastructure around teleconsultations for patients with atrial fibrillation. Social media (SoMe) communication on Twitter contributed to the dissemination of this healthcare innovation by using the hashtag #TeleCheckAF. This study aims to analyse the SoMe network behind #TeleCheckAF and determine the key opinion leaders. Methods Publicly available data on actors and interactions around the hashtag #TeleCheckAF were collected by web scraping from and results the platform Twitter. With tools based on social network analysis, a social network was created, different communities were identified, and key opinion leaders were determined by their centrality in the network. The SoMe network consisted of 413 086 accounts with 636 502 ties in 22 different communities. A total of 287 accounts that diffused information and/or used the TeleCheck-AF infrastructure were analysed in depth. Those accounts involved users from >15 different countries and multidisciplinary professions. Further, 20 opinion leaders were identified, including four official accounts of societies and associated journals among key opinion leaders. Peaks in #TeleCheckAF tweets were seen after (virtual) conferences and other activities involving national and international cardiology societies. Social network analysis of the TeleCheck-AF Twitter hashtag revealed a wide, multidisciplinary potential reach for the diffusion of a healthcare innovation. Conclusion Official society SoMe accounts can amplify the dissemination of research findings by featuring abstract presentations during conferences and published manuscripts. This underlines the synergistic effects between traditional and SoMe-based research dissemination strategies for novel healthcare approaches, such as the TeleCheck-AF project.

AB - Aims TeleCheck-AF is a novel remote on-demand mobile health infrastructure around teleconsultations for patients with atrial fibrillation. Social media (SoMe) communication on Twitter contributed to the dissemination of this healthcare innovation by using the hashtag #TeleCheckAF. This study aims to analyse the SoMe network behind #TeleCheckAF and determine the key opinion leaders. Methods Publicly available data on actors and interactions around the hashtag #TeleCheckAF were collected by web scraping from and results the platform Twitter. With tools based on social network analysis, a social network was created, different communities were identified, and key opinion leaders were determined by their centrality in the network. The SoMe network consisted of 413 086 accounts with 636 502 ties in 22 different communities. A total of 287 accounts that diffused information and/or used the TeleCheck-AF infrastructure were analysed in depth. Those accounts involved users from >15 different countries and multidisciplinary professions. Further, 20 opinion leaders were identified, including four official accounts of societies and associated journals among key opinion leaders. Peaks in #TeleCheckAF tweets were seen after (virtual) conferences and other activities involving national and international cardiology societies. Social network analysis of the TeleCheck-AF Twitter hashtag revealed a wide, multidisciplinary potential reach for the diffusion of a healthcare innovation. Conclusion Official society SoMe accounts can amplify the dissemination of research findings by featuring abstract presentations during conferences and published manuscripts. This underlines the synergistic effects between traditional and SoMe-based research dissemination strategies for novel healthcare approaches, such as the TeleCheck-AF project.

KW - Atrial fibrillation

KW - Healthcare innovation

KW - mHealth

KW - Social media

U2 - 10.1093/ehjdh/ztad066

DO - 10.1093/ehjdh/ztad066

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38264695

AN - SCOPUS:85183769812

VL - 5

SP - 97

EP - 100

JO - European Heart Journal - Digital Health

JF - European Heart Journal - Digital Health

SN - 2634-3916

IS - 1

ER -