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Perceptions of Hospital Care for Persons With Dementia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Social Media Sentiment Analysis
Alixe Ménard, Tracey L O’Sullivan, Michael S. Mulvey, Christopher Belanger, Sarah Fraser. The Gerontologist, 2023-11-07
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Hospital dementia care discourse on Reddit advanced 4 negative sentiment themes: (1) fear of poor medication management, hydration, and hygiene, (2) loss of patient advocacy, (3) precipitation of advance directive discussions, and (4) delayed discharge and loss of nursing home bed. One positive sentiment theme also emerged: gratitude toward hospital staff. DISCUSSION AND Negative sentiment Reddit posts constituted a larger share of the posts than positive posts regarding hospital care for persons with dementia. People who posted about their experiences shared their concerns about hospital care deficiencies and the importance of including informal caregivers in hospital settings, particularly in the context of a pandemic. Implications exist for dementia training, improved quality of care, advance care planning, and transitions in care policies.
Key findings
- Hospital dementia care discourse on Reddit advanced 4 negative sentiment themes: (1) fear of poor medication management, hydration, and hygiene, (2) loss of patient advocacy, (3) precipitation of advance directive discussions, and (4) delayed discharge and loss of nursing home bed.
- One positive sentiment theme also emerged: gratitude toward hospital staff.
- DISCUSSION AND Negative sentiment Reddit posts constituted a larger share of the posts than positive posts regarding hospital care for persons with dementia.
- People who posted about their experiences shared their concerns about hospital care deficiencies and the importance of including informal caregivers in hospital settings, particularly in the context of a pandemic.
- Implications exist for dementia training, improved quality of care, advance care planning, and transitions in care policies.
Why it matters
This analysis of Reddit posts found that negative sentiment posts about hospital dementia care during the COVID-19 pandemic outnumbered positive ones. The negative themes concerned medication management, hydration and hygiene, loss of patient advocacy, advance directive discussions, and delayed discharge.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 35/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Gerontologist) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | The Gerontologist: journal h-index 238 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 4 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.8 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 4 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Sarah Fraser: h-index 35 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Ottawa: institution h-index 908 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 37943714) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 35 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ménard, A., O’Sullivan, T. L., Mulvey, M. S., Belanger, C., & Fraser, S. (2023). Perceptions of Hospital Care for Persons With Dementia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Social Media Sentiment Analysis. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad155
Vancouver
Ménard A, O’Sullivan TL, Mulvey MS, Belanger C, Fraser S. Perceptions of Hospital Care for Persons With Dementia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Social Media Sentiment Analysis. The Gerontologist. 2023. doi:10.1093/geront/gnad155. PMID: 37943714.
BibTeX
@article{menard2023-37943714,
author = {Ménard, Alixe and O’Sullivan, Tracey L and Mulvey, Michael S. and Belanger, Christopher and Fraser, Sarah},
title = {{Perceptions of Hospital Care for Persons With Dementia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Social Media Sentiment Analysis}},
journal = {The Gerontologist},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1093/geront/gnad155},
pmid = {37943714},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad155}
}
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