By Emily Fletcher-Louis 
Each month, CREATION.co’s respiratory tracking update brings you the latest insights into the online UK healthcare professional (eHCP) conversation regarding respiratory disease.
Between 21 February and 20 March 2023, CREATION Pinpoint® tracked the online conversations of UK HCPs discussing respiratory diseases. 2,592 UK eHCP posts discussing respiratory diseases were identified. The average posts per day remained steady at around 100 posts per day over the last four months. These posts were authored by 1,239 UK eHCPs. The eHCP who posted most frequently was Pilar Rivera-Ortega, a specialist in Interstitial Lung Diseases who shared 25 posts about respiratory disease. Dr Rivera-Ortega was particularly interested in research that demonstrated the prognostic value of leukocyte telomere length across racial groups with pulmonary fibrosis.
eHCPs were most active in the respiratory disease conversation on the 8th March and 15th March. 15th March was the first international Long Covid Awareness Day, as well as the day of the UK junior doctor strikes. Long Covid Awareness Day received attention from 15 eHCPs, who used the day to raise awareness of the impact of long covid and educate their followers about its pathology. Sheena Cruickhank’s post (below, shared by the aforementioned 15 eHCPs) was the most shared post within the study period.
Today is #LongCovidAwarenessDay
LongCovid is a condition comprising often severe symptoms that can affect many different organs. It occurs following infection with SARS-CoV-2. Symptoms include cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological as summarised by @EricTopol and colleagues pic.twitter.com/3kt96ES3fz— Prof Sheena Cruickshank (she/her) (@sheencr) March 15, 2023
Several other eHCPs raised awareness of long covid around 15th March. One study, that used health insurance records to show that the death rate and risk of other diseases is higher in people with long covid, was shared by several HCPs.
Consistent with a trend we see month on month, eHCPs showed commitment to encourage proper inhaler usage. eHCPs shared advice for parents about how to keep track of their child’s inhaler usage to avoid the risk of it running out. Others shared a video for asthmatics about inhaler technique from Asthma and Lung UK, and responded to the public who shared their experiences with asthma treatment.
Another of the most widely shared posts in our study was by clin-e-cal, a digital health provider who are investigating whether a digital health tool can help asthmatics develop better inhaler habits. 8 UK eHCPs supported recruitment for their study with the University of Manchester.
Do you have #Asthma?
The University of Manchester @UoMNews are looking for participants for a new study using Clin-e-cal's digital health tools. See👇poster for details. #RespiratoryResearch #InhalerTechniqueMatters #DigitalHealth pic.twitter.com/C2xechtwqH— Clin-e-cal (@clinecal) January 3, 2023
This month, with the exception of an optometrist who accused Sadiq Khan of ‘using scare tactics to penalise Londoners,’ eHCPs continued to support his expansion of the ultra-low emission zone. They advocated for people with asthma and other respiratory diseases who are ‘trapped’ by air pollution, and shared personal experiences of the positive impact ULEZ has had on asthma sufferers. Two eHCPs shared the post below from Oliver Lord about the health burden on children living in areas with high pollution.
Analysis shows ~9% of kids in London breathe at least 4µg/m3 of extra NO2 pollution because they live near major roads. This level significantly increases risk of developing asthma. Expanding #ULEZ will reduce harmful emissions on these roads. 🚙💨🫁👩👦https://t.co/mLlktjv8gu pic.twitter.com/mVk2yem1VF
— Oliver Lord (@0jhl) March 8, 2023
Each month, we track the eHCP conversation relating to respiratory disease.
You can keep up to date with this and other pharmaceutical tracking updates, including COVID-19 developments, within the Tracking section of CREATION Knowledge, or sign up to receive our monthly eJournal with all of our latest HCP insights.
If you would like to dig deeper into what we have seen this month then please do get in touch.
Methodology
- This article analysed the Twitter conversations of HCPs in the UK discussing respiratory disease and related terms between 21 February and 20 March 2023 using CREATION Pinpoint®.
- Between 21 February and 20 March 2023, there were 2,592 UK eHCP mentions of respiratory disease and related terms, from 1,239 unique UK eHCP authors.
Click here to view the latest respiratory tracker
