Systematic Review of Surveillance by Social Media Platforms for Illicit Drug Use

Overview

Journal J Public Health (Oxf)

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Public Health

Date 2017 Mar 24

PMID 28334848

Citations 22

Authors

Donna M Kazemi

Brian Borsari

Maureen J Levine

Beau Dooley

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The use of social media (SM) as a surveillance tool of global illicit drug use is limited. To address this limitation, a systematic review of literature focused on the ability of SM to better recognize illicit drug use trends was addressed.

Methods: A search was conducted in databases: PubMed, CINAHL via Ebsco, PsychINFO via Ebsco, Medline via Ebsco, ERIC, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, ABI/INFORM Complete and Communication and Mass Media Complete. Included studies were original research published in peer-reviewed journals between January 2005 and June 2015 that primarily focused on collecting data from SM platforms to track trends in illicit drug use. Excluded were studies focused on purchasing prescription drugs from illicit online pharmacies.

Results: Selected studies used a range of SM tools/applications, including message boards, Twitter and blog/forums/platform discussions. Limitations included relevance, a lack of standardized surveillance systems and a lack of efficient algorithms to isolate relevant items.

Conclusion: Illicit drug use is a worldwide problem, and the rise of global social networking sites has led to the evolution of a readily accessible surveillance tool. Systematic approaches need to be developed to efficiently extract and analyze illicit drug content from social networks to supplement effective prevention programs.

Citing Articles

Automating Detection of Drug-Related Harms on Social Media: Machine Learning Framework.

Fisher A, Young M, Payer D, Pacheco K, Dubeau C, Mago V J Med Internet Res. 2023; 25:e43630.

PMID: 37725410 PMC: 10548323. DOI: 10.2196/43630.

Examining Symptoms of Stimulant Misuse and Community Support Among Members of a Recovery-Oriented Online Community.

Kasson E, Filiatreau L, Davet K, Kaiser N, Sirko G, Bekele M J Psychoactive Drugs. 2023; 56(3):422-432.

PMID: 37381990 PMC: 10755072. DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2023.2228781.

Social media and internet search data to inform drug utilization: A systematic scoping review.

Keller R, Spanu A, Puhan M, Flahault A, Lovis C, Mutsch M Front Digit Health. 2023; 5:1074961.

PMID: 37021064 PMC: 10067924. DOI: 10.3389/fdgth.2023.1074961.

Using GPT-3 to Build a Lexicon of Drugs of Abuse Synonyms for Social Media Pharmacovigilance.

Carpenter K, Altman R Biomolecules. 2023; 13(2).

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Hallinan C, Khademi Habibabadi S, Conway M, Bonomo Y PLoS One. 2023; 18(1):e0269143.

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