A NEW ERA OF SEEKING KNOWLEDGE FOR #LYMPHEDEMA ON SOCIAL MEDIA: A DETAILED INSTAGRAM HASHTAG ANALYSIS

Instagram is one ofthe most active social media platforms with over a billion users worldwide. Since the importance ofeducation on lymphedema has been established due to the chronic nature of the disease, seeking knowledge attracts much attention not only clinically but also on socialplatforms such as Listagram& Our aim was to examine content by analyzingposts tagged with hashtags on Instagram@ related to lymphedema. Nine predefined hashtags related to lymphedema were used to search posts uploaded to Instagram via the Apify tool. Retrievedpublic posts were classified and analyzed by four researchers for their content andpost-type. We found that the vast majority ofsharing on Instagram in the context oflymphedema and its related aspects have relatively low scores for both relevancy and accuracy with a 77% irrelevancy rate. The best posts were those determined to be educational, which were found 57% relevant and correct. Medicalprofessionals should consider that disseminating true guidance and therapy carries importance for patients with lymphedema and treatment success. The ability for patients to reach knowledge via social media might also be an important aspect in reliving suffering due to lymphedema. However, our results demonstrate that Instagram might not be a goodplatform for patients to discover reliable information about lymphedema.