#Alzheimer's and Dementia

Abstract

The authors performed Twitter data analysis to explore content relative to Alzheimer disease and dementia and then qualitatively coded tweets to explore themes. During a 1-month period, the authors collected 2739 tweets that referenced #alzheimer's, #Alz, #dementia, or #dimentia. Content was posted by (1) caregivers (n = 1391), (2) caregiving organizations (n = 214), (3) general public (n = 854), and (4) news outlets (n = 66). Twitter content themes referenced social support and advocacy. Results show people document experiences with Alzheimer disease and memory loss on Twitter. Twitter could be used to broadly reach persons affected by memory impairment for social support and services, warranting future research.