Using NLP to Analyze Social Media Data for Pharmaceutical Companies

Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) identified vaccine hesitancy as a major public health threat in 2019. The widespread use of social media as a means of communication has enabled the fast dissemination of misinformation and disinformation regarding vaccines, leading to an increase in negative attitudes towards vaccination among the public.

Methods

A framework for vaccine misinformation detection

Melax Tech is using its expertise in semantic modeling, natural language processing, and visualization to build a practical and efficient enterprise data system. They are collaborating with a leading pharmaceutical company ($47.9 billion in revenue in 2020) to create an interactive tool based on machine learning. The tool will monitor and analyze health-related discussions from three major social media platforms (Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube) in real time.

The insights gained from this analysis will be presented on a visualization dashboard that will provide the following information:

1. The ability to filter by social media sources;

2. Visualization of the temporal and geographic trend of sentiment;

3. Known types of health mis- and dis-information,

4. Ability to compare sentiment using statistical analyses and visualization.

The data can be utilized in various ways, such as providing sentiment analysis to both public health professionals and communications/marketing professionals within the company. This analysis equips health professionals with effective tools to intervene using health communication models and frameworks, allowing them to take necessary measures to address any health concerns.

Conclusion

Melax Tech and a leading pharmaceutical company are using AI and data analysis to combat vaccine misinformation on social media. The system filters information, analyzes public sentiment, and equips health professionals to identify and understand misinformation. Results are presented through an easy-to-understand visualization dashboard. This initiative counters vaccine hesitancy and ensures accurate information is available to the public. Melax Tech's pioneering work is a testament to the power of technology in tackling complex challenges. Request a demo to learn more about using NLP to analyze social media data!