Unveiling Public Attitudes and Themes Towards Heart Failure in China on Baidu Tieba: A Data Mining Study

Abstract

Background The prevalence of heart failure is continually increasing, impacting various regions and populations. The application of online communities in healthcare has emerged as a significant area of research. However, the exploration of Chinese public attitudes and content regarding heart failure from a popular perspective remains uncharted. Objective Describing the sentimental attitudes and main themes of Posts by Users on the “Heart Failure Bar” in Baidu Tieba. Methods Data were processed using Python programming. Comments from the "Heart Failure Bar" in Baidu Tieba were collected, followed by data cleaning, preprocessing, saving, and analysis. Findings A total of 37,495 comments were included, with themes encompassing “symptom and experience sharing”, “concerns about the quality of life”, “seeking advice and providing recommendations”, and “sharing resource”. Of the 22,371 "sentiment sentences" subjected to sentiment analysis, 2,258 were positive, 5,004 moderately positive, 6,765 neutral, 5,316 moderately negative, and 3,028 negative. The average sentiment score of the texts was 0.36, indicating an overall moderately negative public attitude towards heart failure. Conclusions Users related to heart failure in China have a strong desire for more professional medical services. Regional disparities in medical standards present a significant issue. Online communities demonstrate potential in bridging gaps in healthcare services.