Ashley M Jackson1,2, Lindsay A Mullican3, Zion T H Tse4,5, Jingjing Yin6, Xiaolu Zhou7,8, Dharamendra Kumar9, Isaac C-H Fung10. 1. Graduate student, (nve7@cdc.gov), Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460., USA. 2. ORISE Fellow, Community Interventions for Infection Control Unit, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333., USA. 3. Graduate student, (lm01763@georgiasouthern.edu), Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460., USA. 4. Professor, (zion.tse@york.ac.uk), College of Engineering, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602., USA. 5. Department of Electronic Engineering, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD., UK. 6. Associate Professor of Biostatistics, (jyin@georgiasouthern.edu), Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460., USA. 7. Assistant Professor of Geography, (xiaolu.zhou@tcu.edu), Department of Geology and Geography, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460., USA. 8. Department of Geography, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas 76129., USA. 9. Graduate student, (dharamendr.kumar25@uga.edu), Department of Computer Science, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602., USA. 10. Associate Professor of Epidemiology, (cfung@georgiasouthern.edu), Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460., USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: For pandemic preparedness, researchers used online systematic searches to track unplanned school closures (USCs). We determine if Twitter provides complementary data. METHODS: Twitter handles of Michigan public schools and school districts were identified. All tweets associated with these handles were downloaded. USC-related tweets were identified using 5 keywords. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were performed in R. RESULTS: Among 3469 Michigan public schools, 2003 maintained their own active Twitter accounts or belonged to school districts with active Twitter accounts. Of these 2003 schools, in 2015-2016 school year, at least 1 USC announcement was identified for 349 schools via the current method only, 678 schools via Twitter only, and 562 schools via both methods. No USC announcements were identified for 414 schools. Rural schools were less likely than city schools to have active Twitter coverage (adjusted relative risk [adjRR] = 0.3956, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.3312-0.4671), and to announce USCs on Twitter (adjRR = 0.5692, 95% CI 0.4645-0.6823), but more likely to have USCs identified by the current method (adjRR = 1.4545, 95% CI 1.3545-1.5490). CONCLUSIONS: Each method identified USCs that were missed by the other. Our results suggested that identifying USCs on Twitter is complementary to the current method.
BACKGROUND: For pandemic preparedness, researchers used online systematic searches to track unplanned school closures (USCs). We determine if Twitter provides complementary data. METHODS: Twitter handles of Michigan public schools and school districts were identified. All tweets associated with these handles were downloaded. USC-related tweets were identified using 5 keywords. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were performed in R. RESULTS: Among 3469 Michigan public schools, 2003 maintained their own active Twitter accounts or belonged to school districts with active Twitter accounts. Of these 2003 schools, in 2015-2016 school year, at least 1 USC announcement was identified for 349 schools via the current method only, 678 schools via Twitter only, and 562 schools via both methods. No USC announcements were identified for 414 schools. Rural schools were less likely than city schools to have active Twitter coverage (adjusted relative risk [adjRR] = 0.3956, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.3312-0.4671), and to announce USCs on Twitter (adjRR = 0.5692, 95% CI 0.4645-0.6823), but more likely to have USCs identified by the current method (adjRR = 1.4545, 95% CI 1.3545-1.5490). CONCLUSIONS: Each method identified USCs that were missed by the other. Our results suggested that identifying USCs on Twitter is complementary to the current method.
Authors: Jennifer O Ahweyevu; Ngozi P Chukwudebe; Brittany M Buchanan; Jingjing Yin; Bishwa B Adhikari; Xiaolu Zhou; Zion Tsz Ho Tse; Gerardo Chowell; Martin I Meltzer; Isaac Chun-Hai Fung Journal: Disaster Med Public Health Prep Date: 2020-05-14 Impact factor: 1.385