Production and consumption of mental health information on social media. Analysis of journalistic, psychological, ethical and social factors (MINDHEALTHMEDIA)

Mental health-related illnesses are a growing problem that has become more visible due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the Spanish government has announced an action plan, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a similar plan in 2013. In addition, mental health is included in one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG 3.4.

The information that citizens consume and share about mental health figures is among the most relevant aspects, which the WHO acknowledges in its guidelines in the abovementioned plan. At the same time, the Mental Health Spain Confederation considers the media to be the key to ending the stigma surrounding mental health. According to the Report on Scientific Disinformation (FECYT), this is also relevant to social media, one of the primary sources of health information.

Thus, this proposal seeks to respond to this need. Its main objective is to analyse the information production and consumption processes on mental health in social media, focusing mainly on journalistic, psychological, ethical, and social factors.

To this end, this proposal aims to: 1) study mental health communication through Twitter and Spanish media coverage of this thematic area; 2) identify which messages, spread on Twitter and Facebook generate greater engagement with the public, with particular attention to emotional elements 3) study all this content from the perspective of ethics; 4) analyse the information production process, through the communication managers of health entities, journalists specialising in health, and opinion leaders; and 5) analyse the perceptions of the other actors involved, such as patient and family groups and the general public.

To achieve these objectives, we propose a study combining different methodological tools to 1) analyse a selection of Twitter accounts; 2) carry out sentiment analysis and a sociometric analysis of these messages; 3) analyse news about mental health published by a selection of media; 4 identify the ethics codes and standards in force in Spain referring to mental health and evaluate their ethical relevance; 5) conduct three sets of in-depth interviews with journalists specialised in mental health, with communication directors of organisations and entities; and with opinion leaders in this field; and 6) hold four discussion groups with patients, family members, representatives of patient and family association, and citizens.

Therefore, the project aims to respond to a social need and provide the groups involved with the necessary tools to improve the processes of production and dissemination of information on mental health. The project will also help fight against misinformation in the mental health field.