Respiratory tracker: World COPD Day causes large spike in the online respiratory conversation

​​Between 21 October and 20 November 2023 CREATION Pinpoint® tracked the conversations of UK eHCPs discussing respiratory diseases on X (formerly Twitter). We analysed 2,949 posts by 1,223 eHCPs.

15 November was by far the most active day for eHCPs discussing respiratory illnesses online, driven by eHCPs posting and sharing content related to World COPD Day. Hashtags were commonly used to raise awareness of COPD, such as #speakupforCOPD which was used 22 times by UK eHCPs. Another hashtag, #WorldCOPDDayBatonPass saw users online post images and videos of different awareness events, sharing eHCP live streams from all over the world.

This #WorldCOPDDay I’m speaking at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Respiratory Health. #speakupforCOPD pic.twitter.com/hAPZXAqtoK

— John Hurst (@ProfHurst) November 15, 2023

Throughout October and November, eHCPs consistently referenced the ‘RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) season’. Most posts about RSV noted that this year’s season seemed to be “mild”, with a Virologist in Wales stating that Wales hasn’t yet “seen a surge in RSV bronchiolitis cases”. Not all eHCPs minimised the risk posed by RSV, however. A number of eHCPs discussed RSV in infants, with one paediatric infection researcher stating that “RSV is a significantly higher risk for infection than COVID-19”.

This year’s RSV spike seems to be sizeable again

RSV is usually mild, but can be serious in young children & older adults

Usual mitigations help (we all know these)

✅ stay home when you are sick
✅ wear a mask in crowded indoor places
✅ wash your hands regularly

1/ pic.twitter.com/j4y3W1e3yj

— Stefan Marciniak (@Prof_Marciniak) November 5, 2023

Celebrity Carol Vorderman’s tweet, linking to an article in The Guardian, was shared 17 times amongst eHCPs. The post touches on the topic of children’s health, an issue which was frequently discussed in November. Awareness days in November such as World Children’s Day and World Pneumonia Day saw a further increase in conversation, prompting eHCPs to highlight attempts to increase care for children with Asthma in the UK as well as looking internationally at children with pneumonia in Bangladesh.

NEWS
Thousands of babies & toddlers falling sick from damp homes in Britain, NHS doctor warns

31,000 (age 4 & under) admitted to hospital with respiratory virus

520,000 rented properties “risk to health”

Housing “now a crucial issue for child health” https://t.co/GtkNJspwyM

— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) November 12, 2023

Each month, we track the eHCP conversation relating to respiratory disease. You can read other editions in the Respiratory Tracker archive .

You can also keep up to date with other pharmaceutical tracking updates, including how HCPs engage with Top 50 pharma and which product approvals are catching their attention.  To receive these updates straight to your inbox you can 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 conversation on 1,223 of HCPs in the UK discussing respiratory disease and related terms between 21 October and 20 November 2023 using CREATION Pinpoint®.

• Between 21 October and 20 November 2023, there were 2,949 UK eHCP mentions of respiratory disease and related terms, from 1,223 unique UK eHCP authors.