Expressions of pandemic fatigue on digital platforms: A thematic analysis of sentiment and narratives for infodemic insights

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Pandemic fatigue has been identified as a concern from early in the pandemic. With new and ongoing health emergencies in 2022, it is important to understand how pandemic fatigue is being discussed and expressed by users on digital channels. Methods This paper describes the collection of publicly available data over a 3-month period from multiple online sources using Meltwater, CrowdTangle to source data from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Product Reviews, Twitch, blogs & forums. A comprehensive search strategy was developed and tested. A total of 1,484,042 social media posts were identified during the time-period that included the defined search terms for pandemic fatigue. These data were initially sorted by highest levels of engagement and from this dataset, analysts reviewed the mentions to isolate and remove irrelevant content and identify dominant narratives. A thematic analysis was carried out on these narratives to identify themes related to expression of pandemic fatigue. Two researchers reviewed the data and themes. Results The thematic analysis of narratives identified six main themes relating to expression of pandemic fatigue, and one theme of counter narratives against pandemic fatigue. Data volume increased concurrent with the time of the mpox emergency announcement. Emergent themes showed the different ways users expressed pandemic fatigue and how it was interlaced with issues of trust, preventative measure acceptance and uptake, misinformation, and being overwhelmed with multiple or sustained emergencies. Conclusions This paper has identified the different ways users express pandemic fatigue on digital channels over a 3-month period. Better understanding the implications of the infodemic ecosystem on user’s perceptions, questions, and concerns regarding pandemic and more broadly emergency fatigue is vital in identifying relevant interventions and, in the longer term, strengthening the global architecture for health emergency preparedness, prevention, readiness and resilience, as evidenced in this paper. There are clear pathways for further research, including incorporating additional languages and reviewing these themes over longer time periods. Pandemic fatigue COVID-19 mpox infodemic preparedness prevention Figures Figure 1 Background Since the start of 2020, the world has been experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic [ 1 ]. The implications of COVID-19 have been felt globally. Multiple public health and social measures (PHSM) have been introduced at different times, restrictions have been placed on movement and travel, and the development of COVID-19 vaccines has been observed in real time. As we have learnt more about the pandemic and what we can do to protect populations, people have been faced with an infodemic, an overwhelming amount of information, including misinformation, disinformation and rumours [ 2 ]. The infodemic can make it difficult for people to identify credible health information, lead to questions or concerns, and negatively affect their health behaviors, including with potential fatal outcomes [ 3 ]. During the COVID-19 pandemic the sheer amount of information being shared on social and other media, as well as via offline community sources, has impacted people’s ability to be able to filter reliable and important information and to protect themselves in turn [ 4 ]. As a result, the infodemic may prolong or reduce effectiveness of the public health response to emergencies. As we look to future preparedness and prevention, evidence-based solutions to tackle the infodemic are needed [ 5 ]. Pandemic fatigue Pandemic fatigue has been defined as “demotivation to engage in protection behaviours and seek COVID-19-related information, and as complacency, alienation and hopelessness” [ 6 ]. The measurement and definition of pandemic fatigue has been expressed in different ways in the literature. One study used comparisons of the use of protective measures at different time points as a proxy for pandemic fatigue [ 7 ]. It reported that younger people and being of male gender was predictive of pandemic fatigue (reduced protective measure use) highlighting this as a key focus for risk communication messaging [ 7 ]. Another study investigated the link between pandemic fatigue and front-line healthcare workers in terms of impact on resilience, mental health, and job contentment [ 8 ]. This study used a 10-item Lockdown / Pandemic Fatigue scale, covering feelings of worry, distress, loss of interest in usual activities and experience of headache, among others [ 9 ]. A cross-sectional study in Israel did not report a specific measure for pandemic fatigue, rather used a multivariate analysis to look at the impact of a range of factors on vaccine hesitancy [ 10 ]. The perception of the importance and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines was a significant predictor of vaccine uptake, with the authors concluding this ‘effectively demonstrated pandemic fatigue is at play’ [ 10 ]. Evidence is emerging of the impact and prevalence of COVID-19-related pandemic fatigue. At the end of 2021 a Monmouth University Poll reported 60% of Americans felt ‘worn out’ by COVID-19, with 45% reporting feeling angry about how COVID-19 had impacted their lives [ 11 ]. Global situation Pandemic fatigue has been identified as a concern from very early on in the COVID-19 pandemic due to the potential impact on risk perceptions and adherence to recommended PHSM. In 2020, at the request of Member States the WHO Regional Office for Europe released a policy document on managing and mitigating pandemic fatigue [ 6 ]. The situation now, 3 years since the COVID-19 onset, is significantly more complex. COVID-19 continues to be a public health emergency with some countries experiencing higher case numbers and deaths in 2022 than at any other time [ 12 ]. New variants and frequency of COVID-19 vaccination recommendations has led to continued vaccine misinformation and vaccine hesitancy [ 13 ] has affected routine immunization programmes [ 14 ]. There are reports of exhaustion in the healthcare workforce [ 15 ]. In 2022, mpox was declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) [ 16 ], New York State in the USA declared polio a public health emergency [ 17 ], the war in Ukraine intensified [ 18 ], devastating flooding was seen in Pakistan [ 19 ], and geographically-specific concerns such as Marburg disease in Ghana [ 20 ], and Ebola outbreaks in Sudan [ 21 ] and Uganda [ 22 ] have contributed to people's sense of feeling overwhelmed and fatigued with health emergencies and health information. In September 2022, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, declared the European Region was in a ‘permacrisis’ due to the multiple and ongoing emergencies [ 23 ]. Social listening and integrated analysis for infodemic preparedness and response Social listening and integrated analysis to produce infodemic insights is the first step in managing the infodemic [ 24 ]. It can help to identify the concerns and narratives expressed by users, including information voids, misinformation, or periods of overwhelming amounts of information. Combining both offline and online data sources can be used to create actionable infodemic insights to guide emergency response and inform epidemic management and prevention strategies [ 25 ]. Throughout the pandemic the WHO COVID-19 Incident Management Support Teams globally and regionally have worked with an external service provider to develop weekly digital social listening reports to inform infodemic response to the pandemic [ 25 ]. The team was detecting regular expressions of pandemic fatigue in the publicly available narratives, both focused directly on pandemic fatigue, and those interwoven with other narratives. These narratives appeared to increase in volume and intensity as the mpox emergency started to evolve, and as other crises impacted different geographical regions on a more local level. Defining expressions of pandemic fatigue is complex as it can manifest differently in different situations and contexts. The digital information ecosystem plays a role in how pandemic fatigue narratives are amplified, shared and received individually and through online communities and networks, and understanding this is important in analyzing the infodemic for prevention and preparedness. There is currently little known about how users express pandemic fatigue through sentiment and narratives on social media and how they can be addressed by the health authorities. To further explore and understand how these narratives were being expressed, this analysis was undertaken, seeking to identify and classify pandemic fatigue narratives into themes. This paper aims to add to the overall understanding of pandemic fatigue by exploring and reporting on key narrative themes associated with expressions of pandemic fatigue by users on digital platforms. Methods Data collection and analysis Publicly available data was gathered in English from online sources using Meltwater [ 26 ] and CrowdTangle [ 27 ]. These tools aggregated data from multiple social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Product Reviews, Twitch, blogs & forums, as well as online news content that has resonated in the platforms. Initial data sorting was two-fold. First, data were sorted by highest levels of engagement (numbers of comment replies, reactions and shares a post received), which meant that top amplified content that was most likely to resonate with social media users was sorted first. Greater weighting was given to items which had a high proportion of comments or shares as this indicates that people wanted content to be seen by their online following or felt strongly enough to leave a comment (rather than add a passive "like" to content). The dataset was then analysed and assessed by expert global analysts to identify dominant narratives, to indicate where conversations were taking place and the context around those conversations. For this analysis, data focused on the period between 23 June to 21 September 2022. A PHEIC is a designation by the WHO implying a situation is serious, sudden, usual or unexpected, carries implications for public health beyond the affected State’s national border and may require immediate international action [ 28 ]. Due to an apparent increase in pandemic fatigue narratives regarding mpox, we chose to start the search one month prior to the WHO Director General declaring mpox a PHEIC on the 23rd of July. Descriptive analysis was used to describe data distribution. Defining search terms To generate a dataset that included health emergencies other than COVID-19, we broadened the aforementioned definition of pandemic fatigue to "demotivation to follow recommended protective behaviours, overwhelm with health advice, or information avoidance, in response to sustained emergencies (ie COVID-19), or multiple emergencies (ie mpox in particular, but also polio, climate change, Marburg disease etc).” Defining the search terms for pandemic fatigue was the first step in preparing the analysis. Given the complexity of defining the way people express pandemic fatigue, this was an iterative process. Initially the team trialled phrases assumed to be associated with pandemic fatigue, such as “I’m sick of”, “tired of hearing”, “over this”, “people have had enough”, “want to live again” among many others. These terms tended to bring up instances of users dismissing pandemic fatigue, rather than expressing it. This was a useful insight for the research team, and it added to the experience from the routine weekly infodemic insights analysis that pandemic fatigue was a widespread and growing sentiment. The final list contained 483 root terms and phrases and involved rounds of testing, iteration and validation (see Appendix 1 for full list). Thematic analysis of narratives Thematic analysis describes a process of seeking understanding of data through organisation and coding data into themes [ 29 ]. There are six steps to thematic analysis of qualitative data: data familiarisation, initial generation of codes, searching and identifying themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming the theme, final analysis and report production [ 30 ]. For this project, the lead researcher conducted the thematic analysis on the dominant narratives identified through the search as being about pandemic fatigue following the above steps. This involved initially reading and rereading narratives and posts to identify potential themes. Data were coded manually, and themes refined and reviewed throughout the analysis process. Defining and naming the themes was then completed alongside a thorough review of content coded to each theme. To ensure confirmability, and reduce any researcher bias in coding, a second researcher reviewed the data and any disagreements in the thematic coding between the two researchers were resolved through discussion. Results Data collection There were 1,484,042 social media posts identified during the time-period that included the defined search terms. From this dataset, analysts reviewed the mentions to isolate and to identify dominant narratives. Figure 1 shows the volume of mentions over time, with the main narratives driving volume peaks identified. Table 1 shows the average number of social media mentions per week throughout the time period and identifies the main conversation topics dominating the peak. The average number of social media mentions per week was 114,147 (std 20,000). The bolded rows (week 3–6) depict the 4 weeks around the time of the mpox PHEIC announcement on the 23rd of July 2022, which shows a consistent higher than average numbers of mentions for this time. Table 1 Average number of weekly social media mentions Week starting No of mentions 1 23/6/2022 97209 2 30/6/2022 115513 3 7/7/2022 124017 4 14/7/2022 149861 5 21/7/2022 141871 6 28/7/2022 141840 7 4/8/2022 116986 8 11/8/2022 99898 9 18/8/2022 101434 10 25/8/2022 107521 11 1/9/2022 88210 12 8/9/2022 92601 13 15/9/2022 107081 Thematic analysis Users talked about and expressed pandemic fatigue in a range of different ways. Six main themes emerged from the narrative analysis relating to expression of pandemic fatigue, and one theme of counter narratives against pandemic fatigue. These themes are described below. Sustained emergency driving narratives preventative measures are ineffective Anger, apathy or disinterest towards preventative measures Information avoidance or dismissal Overwhelmed with multiple or sustained emergencies Comparisons with multiple or sustained emergencies Distrust in health and other authorities Counter narratives against pandemic fatigue Sustained emergency driving narratives preventative measures are ineffective The prolonged and evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic drove narratives in this category. Narratives focused on the persistence of COVID-19, despite all the measures put in place, as evidence that these preventative measures, including vaccination, were ineffective. This included PHSM such as mask-wearing and lockdowns being seen as ineffective and of little use, and there was a particularly strong opposition identified to children wearing masks. This was due to claims the risk to children had been overstated and that there was no evidence regarding masks. Users made statements such as “Shouldn’t it be clear that vaccines & masks DON’T WORK” , “If the jabs were effective, why are covid infections rising???” , and “Lockdowns all the time were a waste of our time”. Anger, apathy or disinterest towards preventative measures Different to the previous theme, narratives in this theme expressed indifference, apathy, disinterest or anger towards preventative measures. Observed in this theme were narratives regarding PHSM compliance (“hardly anyone cares and is following the rules”), calls not to normalise PHMS and vaccine passports (“[Don’t want] faceless societies”), and general demotivation for measures, with users asking, “Why are we still wearing masks?”, “Why are we still testing for COVID?”. Information avoidance or dismissal This theme was characterised by users dismissing information, often by a ‘Yawn’ or an eye-roll emoji 🙄 or exhibiting information avoidance. Reactions to reports of new COVID-19 variants being considered a threat were likely to prompt responses expressing sarcasm, “Here we go again! Yawn 🥱 ” or a dismissive lack of concern “Breaking news: there’s a new “scary” covid variant. *sigh*” . Users asked how long the media would keep reporting COVID-19 information, making statements such as “So over it, Nobody cares” . Similarly, reports about mpox being declared a public health emergency were met with “Yawn”. Overwhelmed with multiple or sustained emergencies The convergence of multiple emergencies, or the prolonged nature of the COVID-19 pandemic led users to express feelings of being overwhelmed. This included feelings of helplessness and frustration at the continued impact on daily life. Users referred to being tired of pretending things were ok, or of having to suppress all their concerns and fears to enable them to continue with daily life, “This place is a s**tshow right now… I’m exhausted from pretending [it’s okay]” . Also, in this theme were narratives identified as questioning ongoing emergency measures as the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies continue to impact on user’s daily lives. Comparisons with multiple or sustained emergencies Comparisons between health emergencies were frequently used to downplay the level of risk of a particular emergency. This included challenging the emergency status, challenging the use of PHSM, or linking to conspiracy theories. The impact of COVID-19 was unfavourably compared to other emergencies with users stating that global issues such as starvation, seasonal influenza, heart disease, injury and cancer contributed more to the burden of mortality and morbidity, than COVID-19. As an example, one user stated, “I’m tired of reading about Covid and now this monkeypox cr*p. More people died of hunger than from COVID-19” . Another compared COVID-19 deaths to heart disease stating, “Almost 2,000 per day die from heart disease, what on earth are we doing?” Re-occurring questioning of the climate change emergency was observed, including that climate change was a scam just like COVID-19, that climate change would be used to keep citizens living in fear as COVID-19 fatigue sets in, and that climate change will result in the next round of lockdowns. Distrust in health and other authorities Narratives in this theme expressed distrust towards health or other authorities. These predominantly were observed around the perceived handling of the COVID-19 pandemic or other health emergencies. Examples included users stating, “ The government and media lied” , and “Government doesn’t want to give up its new powers” . Also observed in this theme were multiple conspiracy-related narratives about PHSM recommendations being social control by authorities, the media being used to drive fear, and the mpox outbreak being the next step in the ‘ plandemic’ . Other narratives referred to authorities’ scaremongering over new variants. Interestingly, in this theme were expressions of distrust driven by disappointment of perceived PHSM or vaccination efficacy. Promises made early in the pandemic about how the vaccine would prevent transmission or would prevent illness, were used to express distrust in officials claims about subsequent boosters and questioning of the science. Counter narratives against pandemic fatigue Counter narratives came from users who were expressing disappointment at the complacencies of others, or other people’s expression of pandemic fatigue and associated reported behaviours. This was largely in relation to users feeling judged for continuing with PHSM, or also being tired of continuing with PHSM, but needing to continue, nonetheless. Users who identified as being high risk for COVID-19, or immunocompromised were observed in this theme. Some examples included users stating, “ We are SO bored of covid too ”, or “ We are over Covid too, but it’s here, and to keep our families safe we need to face it .” Some users reported being dismissed by family members or experiencing acts of bullying and mockery at their continued adherence to PHSM, with one user asking, “Why are people bullying those people who wear masks?” Discussion This paper has identified different ways users express pandemic fatigue on social media. Although pandemic fatigue is a significant concern for health authorities, this paper is the first that we are aware that has sought to define and categorise expressions of pandemic fatigue by digital online users in relation to health emergencies. The themes we identified provide insight into the different ways fatigue is expressed and how it is often conflated with other narrative types. This paper adds several interesting findings to the knowledge of pandemic fatigue. While pandemic fatigue narrative volume increased around the time of the mpox PHEIC announcement, conversation was not always directly related to mpox, as some of the peaks were driven by COVID-19 content, and this could have been related to other factors. However, this narrative crossover was also observed in the themes of ‘Overwhelmed with multiple or sustained emergencies’ and ‘Comparisons with multiple or sustained emergencies’ where different health emergencies were driving fatigue across adjacent issues. There were instances of users bringing several health emergencies together to express feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of crises the world is facing. Other research has reported on ways of building community resilience to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, including through social media [ 31 ], and this is an important area of research. There is a need for a nuanced approach to information delivery during the time of emerging health concerns, rather than just adding more information, researchers and health authorities can consider how information is likely to be received and be guided by principles of codesign and community engagement. Infodemic insights can be used to understand community responses and reactions. As well as offering immediate insights for actions during an emergency, analyzing patterns of infodemic insights and narratives overtime, such as this research, can offer insights into user expression and help guide prevention, preparedness and readiness. Expressions of pandemic fatigue were interwoven with distrust in authorities, demotivation to use PHSM and feelings of being overwhelmed, angry or dismissive. These are important considerations when a health emergency is evolving, and targeted work is needed to respond effectively. Building trust and health literacy prior to an emergency are key preventative strategies. Other research has found an association with high levels of social media exposure and information overload, information anxiety, and information avoidance [ 32 ]. Although we did not look at volume of narratives by theme for this study, looking at patterns of narrative expressions by theme (i.e., by information avoidance or dismissal) mapped to total volume and key events may provide further interesting insights. The use of emoji, in particular eyeroll, yawn and confused faces, to express pandemic fatigue shows the challenges in finding and identifying narratives. Further research may be enhanced by including image analysis. The complexity in defining the search strategy for this research shows the nuanced approach that is needed, and our search strategy benefited from rounds of iteration and testing. The work done in defining both pandemic fatigue search terms as well as themes of expression will be useful for further research. More research is needed in languages other than English and over a longer timeframe. Guidance for action on mitigating pandemic fatigue includes risk communication and community engagement and consultation, risk reduction, and acknowledgement of the situations [ 6 ]. As the science and public health recommendations change throughout a health emergency, there is a need to carefully consider how the infodemic ecosystem impacts users, to effectively manage narratives regarding trust in health authorities. There are lessons to be learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic that can be applied to future infodemic planning. Infodemic management is a key component in the draft WHO white paper, ‘10 Proposals to build a safer world together’, under proposal 4, ‘Strengthen global health emergency alert and response teams that are trained to common standards, interoperable, rapidly deployable, scalable and equipped’ [ 5 ]. Using digital and offline data to create infodemic insights for action, guided by appropriate frameworks, can help to enhance timely response and work towards the prevention and mitigation of the infodemic. Limitations The themes we identified in our analysis describe the different way users’ express pandemic fatigue, however, our work was only conducted over a short time-period and only from online sources that had publicly accessible data. As this was an exploratory exercise, with significant testing of keywords, the search was conducted only in the English language. There is a need for broader investigations including in other languages and with offline sources. This research identified six themes of pandemic fatigue expression, but additional, or different themes may be identified using longer search periods or refined search terms. Due to the various ways user’s express narratives of fatigue, and how they cross-over with other more specific narratives, defining and understanding pandemic fatigue is complex. This work adds to the evidence by outlining some themes of expression. Conclusion This paper is the first that we are aware that has sought to define and categorise expression of pandemic fatigue by digital online users during a defined period. It has shown the different ways pandemic fatigue is expressed and how it is interwoven with issues of trust, PHSM acceptance and users expressing being overwhelmed. There are clear pathways for future research in this area, in particular looking to understand how this concept is expressed in other languages, in offline settings and what impact pandemic fatigue has on actual PHSM, vaccines, treatments, or diagnostics uptake and adherence. As we move to strengthen the global architecture for health emergency preparedness, prevention, readiness, and resilience, better understanding the implications of the infodemic ecosystem on user’s perceptions, questions and concerns is vital. Abbreviations PHSM Public Health and Social Measures WHO World Health Organization PHEIC Public Health Emergency of International Concern Declarations Ethical approval and consent to participate The data analysed in this analysis was sourced through a commercial social listening platform MeltWater which samples publicly available content from social media and online forum. Ethics review committee approval was not sought because the project involved no no interaction or intervention with the individual about whom data are being collected (e.g., this involved using MeltWater platform in sampling of data from public Twitter feeds; public Facebook profiles or wall postings; information from public forums, open chat rooms, etc.). However, when analysing and reporting on the narratives, the analysis team considered users’ expectations and intentions, and the possible harm to users stemming from reporting on sensitive topics, and vulnerable groups. Therefore, quotations used to illustrate identified narratives were paraphrased to protect against retrievability of specific posts. Consent for publication Not applicable Availability of Data and Materials The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request. Competing interests BW, AI, TDP, TN, SB, KR, RT, MD, RO, RSS and CS are consultants or staff members of the World Health Organization. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the World Health Organization. LL, AW, TF are employed by a media monitoring company that provides a wide range of services to clients in media monitoring and listening, including the WHO. The work described in this paper was part of their contractual service to the WHO. Funding Work of LL, AW, TF was funded by World Health Organization. The work described in this paper was part of their contractual service to the WHO. Authors’ Contributions BKW, AI and TDP designed the analysis and methods. LL, AW, TF conducted data collection, analysis and reporting on contract to WHO. BKW and AI carried out the qualitative analysis of dominant narratives. 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Geneva: WHO; 2022. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/359144 . Meltwater. n.d. Meltwater. https://explore.meltwater.com/brand-media-intelligence . CrowdTangle Team. 2021. CrowdTangle. Facebook, Menlo Park, California, United States. https://www.crowdtangle.com . WHO. 2019. Emergencies: International health regulations and emergency committees. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/emergencies-international-health-regulations-and-emergency-committees . Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Res Psychol. 2006;3(2):77–101. 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa . Bryman A. Social research methods 2nd ed. Volume 0199588058. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2004. p. 0199588058. Xie L, Pinto J, Zhong B. Building community resilience on social media to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Comput Hum Behav. 2022;134:107294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107294 . Soroya SH, Farooq A, Mahmood K, Isoaho J, Zara S. -e. From information seeking to information avoidance: Understanding the health information behavior during a global health crisis. Inf Process Manag. 2021;58(2):102440–. 10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102440 . Additional Declarations Competing interest reported. BW, AI, TDP, TN, SB, KR, RT, MD, RO, RSS and CS are consultants or staff members of the World Health Organization. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the World Health Organization. LL, AW, TF are employed by a media monitoring company that provides a wide range of services to clients in media monitoring and listening, including the WHO. The work described in this paper was part of their contractual service to the WHO. Supplementary Files supplemental1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Mar, 2024 Read the published version in BMC Public Health → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major revision 08 Aug, 2023 Reviews received at journal 05 Aug, 2023 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Aug, 2023 Reviews received at journal 20 Jun, 2023 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Jun, 2023 Reviews received at journal 23 May, 2023 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 May, 2023 Reviewers invited by journal 03 May, 2023 Editor assigned by journal 03 May, 2023 Editor invited by journal 29 Mar, 2023 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Mar, 2023 First submitted to journal 15 Mar, 2023 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Organization","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Atsuyoshi","middleName":"","lastName":"Ishizumi","suffix":""},{"id":187481256,"identity":"eaf07d4f-5769-49b1-a594-00f0d56f8876","order_by":2,"name":"Lucy Lavery","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Marble Global LTD","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lucy","middleName":"","lastName":"Lavery","suffix":""},{"id":187481257,"identity":"2e3e6df7-d49c-474c-8434-5aab4eb2cdde","order_by":3,"name":"Amy Wright","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Marble Global LTD","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amy","middleName":"","lastName":"Wright","suffix":""},{"id":187481258,"identity":"0f18dcaf-447e-471a-adea-24250e1a718b","order_by":4,"name":"Tom Foley","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Marble Global LTD","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tom","middleName":"","lastName":"Foley","suffix":""},{"id":187481259,"identity":"0737d053-e0e6-4ca5-bf08-d7f4bc0af9a1","order_by":5,"name":"Rhys O’Neill","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rhys","middleName":"","lastName":"O’Neill","suffix":""},{"id":187481260,"identity":"03321a8e-b23c-490b-bf9e-0562571cebe7","order_by":6,"name":"Kimberly Rambaud","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"WHO Regional Office for Europe","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kimberly","middleName":"","lastName":"Rambaud","suffix":""},{"id":187481261,"identity":"51214eaa-d458-476a-b119-09d1e89b40c6","order_by":7,"name":"Ravi Shankar Sreenath","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"WHO Regional Office for Europe","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ravi","middleName":"Shankar","lastName":"Sreenath","suffix":""},{"id":187481262,"identity":"759fcedd-b996-43b4-81b8-c069d3a8f6c7","order_by":8,"name":"Cristiana Salvi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"WHO Regional Office for Europe","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Cristiana","middleName":"","lastName":"Salvi","suffix":""},{"id":187481263,"identity":"f4e376ac-d00f-41bd-a279-aef36c608780","order_by":9,"name":"Ryoko Takahashi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"World Health Organization","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ryoko","middleName":"","lastName":"Takahashi","suffix":""},{"id":187481264,"identity":"448fa2b4-4a84-4de6-9ebb-4b1ed89c8555","order_by":10,"name":"Marcelo D’Agostino","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization Regional Office for the Americas","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marcelo","middleName":"","lastName":"D’Agostino","suffix":""},{"id":187481265,"identity":"7963a057-1e45-4962-a768-3b05b1becdbd","order_by":11,"name":"Tim Nguyen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"World Health Organization","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tim","middleName":"","lastName":"Nguyen","suffix":""},{"id":187481266,"identity":"fc48ae39-4390-4f7e-b324-b40f888bec4c","order_by":12,"name":"Sylvie Briand","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"World Health Organization","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sylvie","middleName":"","lastName":"Briand","suffix":""},{"id":187481271,"identity":"9f15ae6c-fab8-4e02-ac74-b341679d6530","order_by":13,"name":"Tina D Purnat","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAqElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBADOQYJIJlAvIYEA2OoFgPitSQ2SIBZRGgxl8h99uDnjz/pG243H2B4uOMPYS2WM9LNDXsSDHI33DmWwJB4hghbDG6ksUnwALVsu5FjwJDYRqQWyT8JBulmJGmRBtqSQLwWy55nbNIyacaG+2+kJRxIbDMmrMWcHeiwNzZy8pIzkg8+/NkmR4TDkDkHCKtH1zIKRsEoGAWjACsAAG4TNhMhZwhqAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"World Health Organization","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tina","middleName":"D","lastName":"Purnat","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-03-15 17:44:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2697555/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2697555/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-17718-4","type":"published","date":"2024-03-05T15:00:53+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":35122738,"identity":"e87984d8-0f0a-4767-913c-61441e5696b7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-03-31 21:23:07","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":182313,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePandemic fatigue related posts with top-level analysis of narratives driving the peaks in data volume.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"fig1pandemicfatigue.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2697555/v1/2c0eb5780ff078f28c88a8d4.jpg"},{"id":52431835,"identity":"7c4c5201-a748-4042-8207-cfe2d0dc4d47","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-03-11 15:08:03","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":579438,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2697555/v1/4f9c878d-019d-4ef3-b936-f94de6d0956a.pdf"},{"id":35122739,"identity":"16a421d4-c217-438f-82b9-f8c55040295f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-03-31 21:23:07","extension":"docx","order_by":3,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":592902,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"supplemental1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2697555/v1/a90013a2a07ab7404df9c389.docx"}],"financialInterests":"Competing interest reported. BW, AI, TDP, TN, SB, KR, RT, MD, RO, RSS and CS are consultants or staff members of the World Health Organization. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the World Health Organization. LL, AW, TF are employed by a media monitoring company that provides a wide range of services to clients in media monitoring and listening, including the WHO. The work described in this paper was part of their contractual service to the WHO.","formattedTitle":"Expressions of pandemic fatigue on digital platforms: A thematic analysis of sentiment and narratives for infodemic insights","fulltext":[{"header":"Background","content":"\u003cp\u003eSince the start of 2020, the world has been experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. The implications of COVID-19 have been felt globally. Multiple public health and social measures (PHSM) have been introduced at different times, restrictions have been placed on movement and travel, and the development of COVID-19 vaccines has been observed in real time. As we have learnt more about the pandemic and what we can do to protect populations, people have been faced with an infodemic, an overwhelming amount of information, including misinformation, disinformation and rumours [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. The infodemic can make it difficult for people to identify credible health information, lead to questions or concerns, and negatively affect their health behaviors, including with potential fatal outcomes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. During the COVID-19 pandemic the sheer amount of information being shared on social and other media, as well as via offline community sources, has impacted people\u0026rsquo;s ability to be able to filter reliable and important information and to protect themselves in turn [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. As a result, the infodemic may prolong or reduce effectiveness of the public health response to emergencies. As we look to future preparedness and prevention, evidence-based solutions to tackle the infodemic are needed [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003ePandemic fatigue\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePandemic fatigue has been defined as \u0026ldquo;demotivation to engage in protection behaviours and seek COVID-19-related information, and as complacency, alienation and hopelessness\u0026rdquo; [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. The measurement and definition of pandemic fatigue has been expressed in different ways in the literature. One study used comparisons of the use of protective measures at different time points as a proxy for pandemic fatigue [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. It reported that younger people and being of male gender was predictive of pandemic fatigue (reduced protective measure use) highlighting this as a key focus for risk communication messaging [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. Another study investigated the link between pandemic fatigue and front-line healthcare workers in terms of impact on resilience, mental health, and job contentment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. This study used a 10-item Lockdown / Pandemic Fatigue scale, covering feelings of worry, distress, loss of interest in usual activities and experience of headache, among others [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. A cross-sectional study in Israel did not report a specific measure for pandemic fatigue, rather used a multivariate analysis to look at the impact of a range of factors on vaccine hesitancy [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. The perception of the importance and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines was a significant predictor of vaccine uptake, with the authors concluding this \u0026lsquo;effectively demonstrated pandemic fatigue is at play\u0026rsquo; [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. Evidence is emerging of the impact and prevalence of COVID-19-related pandemic fatigue. At the end of 2021 a Monmouth University Poll reported 60% of Americans felt \u0026lsquo;worn out\u0026rsquo; by COVID-19, with 45% reporting feeling angry about how COVID-19 had impacted their lives [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGlobal situation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePandemic fatigue has been identified as a concern from very early on in the COVID-19 pandemic due to the potential impact on risk perceptions and adherence to recommended PHSM. In 2020, at the request of Member States the WHO Regional Office for Europe released a policy document on managing and mitigating pandemic fatigue [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. The situation now, 3 years since the COVID-19 onset, is significantly more complex. COVID-19 continues to be a public health emergency with some countries experiencing higher case numbers and deaths in 2022 than at any other time [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. New variants and frequency of COVID-19 vaccination recommendations has led to continued vaccine misinformation and vaccine hesitancy [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e] has affected routine immunization programmes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. There are reports of exhaustion in the healthcare workforce [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]. In 2022, mpox was declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e], New York State in the USA declared polio a public health emergency [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e], the war in Ukraine intensified [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e], devastating flooding was seen in Pakistan [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e], and geographically-specific concerns such as Marburg disease in Ghana [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e], and Ebola outbreaks in Sudan [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e] and Uganda [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e] have contributed to people's sense of feeling overwhelmed and fatigued with health emergencies and health information. In September 2022, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, declared the European Region was in a \u0026lsquo;permacrisis\u0026rsquo; due to the multiple and ongoing emergencies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSocial listening and integrated analysis for infodemic preparedness and response\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial listening and integrated analysis to produce infodemic insights is the first step in managing the infodemic [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. It can help to identify the concerns and narratives expressed by users, including information voids, misinformation, or periods of overwhelming amounts of information. Combining both offline and online data sources can be used to create actionable infodemic insights to guide emergency response and inform epidemic management and prevention strategies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. Throughout the pandemic the WHO COVID-19 Incident Management Support Teams globally and regionally have worked with an external service provider to develop weekly digital social listening reports to inform infodemic response to the pandemic [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. The team was detecting regular expressions of pandemic fatigue in the publicly available narratives, both focused directly on pandemic fatigue, and those interwoven with other narratives. These narratives appeared to increase in volume and intensity as the mpox emergency started to evolve, and as other crises impacted different geographical regions on a more local level.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDefining expressions of pandemic fatigue is complex as it can manifest differently in different situations and contexts. The digital information ecosystem plays a role in how pandemic fatigue narratives are amplified, shared and received individually and through online communities and networks, and understanding this is important in analyzing the infodemic for prevention and preparedness. There is currently little known about how users express pandemic fatigue through sentiment and narratives on social media and how they can be addressed by the health authorities. To further explore and understand how these narratives were being expressed, this analysis was undertaken, seeking to identify and classify pandemic fatigue narratives into themes. This paper aims to add to the overall understanding of pandemic fatigue by exploring and reporting on key narrative themes associated with expressions of pandemic fatigue by users on digital platforms.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eData collection and analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublicly available data was gathered in English from online sources using Meltwater [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e] and CrowdTangle [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. These tools aggregated data from multiple social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Product Reviews, Twitch, blogs \u0026amp; forums, as well as online news content that has resonated in the platforms. Initial data sorting was two-fold. First, data were sorted by highest levels of engagement (numbers of comment replies, reactions and shares a post received), which meant that top amplified content that was most likely to resonate with social media users was sorted first. Greater weighting was given to items which had a high proportion of comments or shares as this indicates that people wanted content to be seen by their online following or felt strongly enough to leave a comment (rather than add a passive \"like\" to content). The dataset was then analysed and assessed by expert global analysts to identify dominant narratives, to indicate where conversations were taking place and the context around those conversations. For this analysis, data focused on the period between 23 June to 21 September 2022. A PHEIC is a designation by the WHO implying a situation is serious, sudden, usual or unexpected, carries implications for public health beyond the affected State\u0026rsquo;s national border and may require immediate international action [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e]. Due to an apparent increase in pandemic fatigue narratives regarding mpox, we chose to start the search one month prior to the WHO Director General declaring mpox a PHEIC on the 23rd of July. Descriptive analysis was used to describe data distribution.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eDefining search terms\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo generate a dataset that included health emergencies other than COVID-19, we broadened the aforementioned definition of pandemic fatigue to \"demotivation to follow recommended protective behaviours, overwhelm with health advice, or information avoidance, in response to sustained emergencies (ie COVID-19), or multiple emergencies (ie mpox in particular, but also polio, climate change, Marburg disease etc).\u0026rdquo; Defining the search terms for pandemic fatigue was the first step in preparing the analysis. Given the complexity of defining the way people express pandemic fatigue, this was an iterative process. Initially the team trialled phrases assumed to be associated with pandemic fatigue, such as \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m sick of\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;tired of hearing\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;over this\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;people have had enough\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;want to live again\u0026rdquo; among many others. These terms tended to bring up instances of users dismissing pandemic fatigue, rather than expressing it. This was a useful insight for the research team, and it added to the experience from the routine weekly infodemic insights analysis that pandemic fatigue was a widespread and growing sentiment. The final list contained 483 root terms and phrases and involved rounds of testing, iteration and validation (see Appendix 1 for full list).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThematic analysis of narratives\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThematic analysis describes a process of seeking understanding of data through organisation and coding data into themes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. There are six steps to thematic analysis of qualitative data: data familiarisation, initial generation of codes, searching and identifying themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming the theme, final analysis and report production [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor this project, the lead researcher conducted the thematic analysis on the dominant narratives identified through the search as being about pandemic fatigue following the above steps. This involved initially reading and rereading narratives and posts to identify potential themes. Data were coded manually, and themes refined and reviewed throughout the analysis process. Defining and naming the themes was then completed alongside a thorough review of content coded to each theme. To ensure confirmability, and reduce any researcher bias in coding, a second researcher reviewed the data and any disagreements in the thematic coding between the two researchers were resolved through discussion.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eData collection\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere were 1,484,042 social media posts identified during the time-period that included the defined search terms. From this dataset, analysts reviewed the mentions to isolate and to identify dominant narratives. Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e shows the volume of mentions over time, with the main narratives driving volume peaks identified.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e shows the average number of social media mentions per week throughout the time period and identifies the main conversation topics dominating the peak. The average number of social media mentions per week was 114,147 (std 20,000). The bolded rows (week 3\u0026ndash;6) depict the 4 weeks around the time of the mpox PHEIC announcement on the 23rd of July 2022, which shows a consistent higher than average numbers of mentions for this time.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAverage number of weekly social media mentions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWeek starting\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo of mentions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23/6/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e97209\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30/6/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e115513\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7/7/2022\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e124017\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e14/7/2022\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e149861\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e21/7/2022\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e141871\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e28/7/2022\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e141840\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4/8/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e116986\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11/8/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e99898\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18/8/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e101434\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25/8/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e107521\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1/9/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88210\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8/9/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e92601\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15/9/2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e107081\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThematic analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsers talked about and expressed pandemic fatigue in a range of different ways. Six main themes emerged from the narrative analysis relating to expression of pandemic fatigue, and one theme of counter narratives against pandemic fatigue. These themes are described below.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eSustained emergency driving narratives preventative measures are ineffective\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnger, apathy or disinterest towards preventative measures\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eInformation avoidance or dismissal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverwhelmed with multiple or sustained emergencies\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparisons with multiple or sustained emergencies\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eDistrust in health and other authorities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eCounter narratives against pandemic fatigue\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSustained emergency driving narratives preventative measures are ineffective\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe prolonged and evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic drove narratives in this category. Narratives focused on the persistence of COVID-19, despite all the measures put in place, as evidence that these preventative measures, including vaccination, were ineffective. This included PHSM such as mask-wearing and lockdowns being seen as ineffective and of little use, and there was a particularly strong opposition identified to children wearing masks. This was due to claims the risk to children had been overstated and that there was no evidence regarding masks. Users made statements such as \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;Shouldn\u0026rsquo;t it be clear that vaccines \u0026amp; masks DON\u0026rsquo;T WORK\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;If the jabs were effective, why are covid infections rising???\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;Lockdowns all the time were a waste of our time\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eAnger, apathy or disinterest towards preventative measures\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDifferent to the previous theme, narratives in this theme expressed indifference, apathy, disinterest or anger towards preventative measures. Observed in this theme were narratives regarding PHSM compliance (\u0026ldquo;hardly anyone cares and is following the rules\u0026rdquo;), calls not to normalise PHMS and vaccine passports (\u0026ldquo;[Don\u0026rsquo;t want] faceless societies\u0026rdquo;), and general demotivation for measures, with users asking, \u0026ldquo;Why are we still wearing masks?\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;Why are we still testing for COVID?\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eInformation avoidance or dismissal\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis theme was characterised by users dismissing information, often by a \u0026lsquo;Yawn\u0026rsquo; or an eye-roll emoji \u0026#128580; or exhibiting information avoidance. Reactions to reports of new COVID-19 variants being considered a threat were likely to prompt responses expressing sarcasm, \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;Here we go again! Yawn\u003c/em\u003e \u0026#129393;\u003cem\u003e\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e or a dismissive lack of concern \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;Breaking news: there\u0026rsquo;s a new \u0026ldquo;scary\u0026rdquo; covid variant. *sigh*\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e. Users asked how long the media would keep reporting COVID-19 information, making statements such as \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;So over it, Nobody cares\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e. Similarly, reports about mpox being declared a public health emergency were met with \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;Yawn\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eOverwhelmed with multiple or sustained emergencies\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe convergence of multiple emergencies, or the prolonged nature of the COVID-19 pandemic led users to express feelings of being overwhelmed. This included feelings of helplessness and frustration at the continued impact on daily life. Users referred to being tired of pretending things were ok, or of having to suppress all their concerns and fears to enable them to continue with daily life, \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;This place is a s**tshow right now\u0026hellip; I\u0026rsquo;m exhausted from pretending [it\u0026rsquo;s okay]\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e. Also, in this theme were narratives identified as questioning ongoing emergency measures as the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies continue to impact on user\u0026rsquo;s daily lives.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eComparisons with multiple or sustained emergencies\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparisons between health emergencies were frequently used to downplay the level of risk of a particular emergency. This included challenging the emergency status, challenging the use of PHSM, or linking to conspiracy theories. The impact of COVID-19 was unfavourably compared to other emergencies with users stating that global issues such as starvation, seasonal influenza, heart disease, injury and cancer contributed more to the burden of mortality and morbidity, than COVID-19. As an example, one user stated, \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m tired of reading about Covid and now this monkeypox cr*p. More people died of hunger than from COVID-19\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e. Another compared COVID-19 deaths to heart disease stating, \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;Almost 2,000 per day die from heart disease, what on earth are we doing?\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e Re-occurring questioning of the climate change emergency was observed, including that climate change was a scam just like COVID-19, that climate change would be used to keep citizens living in fear as COVID-19 fatigue sets in, and that climate change will result in the next round of lockdowns.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eDistrust in health and other authorities\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eNarratives in this theme expressed distrust towards health or other authorities. These predominantly were observed around the perceived handling of the COVID-19 pandemic or other health emergencies. Examples included users stating, \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eThe government and media lied\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;Government doesn\u0026rsquo;t want to give up its new powers\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e. Also observed in this theme were multiple conspiracy-related narratives about PHSM recommendations being social control by authorities, the media being used to drive fear, and the mpox outbreak being the next step in the \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003eplandemic\u0026rsquo;\u003c/em\u003e. Other narratives referred to authorities\u0026rsquo; scaremongering over new variants. Interestingly, in this theme were expressions of distrust driven by disappointment of perceived PHSM or vaccination efficacy. Promises made early in the pandemic about how the vaccine would prevent transmission or would prevent illness, were used to express distrust in officials claims about subsequent boosters and questioning of the science.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCounter narratives against pandemic fatigue\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eCounter narratives came from users who were expressing disappointment at the complacencies of others, or other people\u0026rsquo;s expression of pandemic fatigue and associated reported behaviours. This was largely in relation to users feeling judged for continuing with PHSM, or also being tired of continuing with PHSM, but needing to continue, nonetheless. Users who identified as being high risk for COVID-19, or immunocompromised were observed in this theme. Some examples included users stating, \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eWe are SO bored of covid too\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rdquo;, or \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eWe are over Covid too, but it\u0026rsquo;s here, and to keep our families safe we need to face it\u003c/em\u003e.\u0026rdquo; Some users reported being dismissed by family members or experiencing acts of bullying and mockery at their continued adherence to PHSM, with one user asking, \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;Why are people bullying those people who wear masks?\u0026rdquo;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper has identified different ways users express pandemic fatigue on social media. Although pandemic fatigue is a significant concern for health authorities, this paper is the first that we are aware that has sought to define and categorise expressions of pandemic fatigue by digital online users in relation to health emergencies. The themes we identified provide insight into the different ways fatigue is expressed and how it is often conflated with other narrative types. This paper adds several interesting findings to the knowledge of pandemic fatigue.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile pandemic fatigue narrative volume increased around the time of the mpox PHEIC announcement, conversation was not always directly related to mpox, as some of the peaks were driven by COVID-19 content, and this could have been related to other factors. However, this narrative crossover was also observed in the themes of \u0026lsquo;Overwhelmed with multiple or sustained emergencies\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;Comparisons with multiple or sustained emergencies\u0026rsquo; where different health emergencies were driving fatigue across adjacent issues. There were instances of users bringing several health emergencies together to express feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of crises the world is facing. Other research has reported on ways of building community resilience to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, including through social media [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e], and this is an important area of research. There is a need for a nuanced approach to information delivery during the time of emerging health concerns, rather than just adding more information, researchers and health authorities can consider how information is likely to be received and be guided by principles of codesign and community engagement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfodemic insights can be used to understand community responses and reactions. As well as offering immediate insights for actions during an emergency, analyzing patterns of infodemic insights and narratives overtime, such as this research, can offer insights into user expression and help guide prevention, preparedness and readiness. Expressions of pandemic fatigue were interwoven with distrust in authorities, demotivation to use PHSM and feelings of being overwhelmed, angry or dismissive. These are important considerations when a health emergency is evolving, and targeted work is needed to respond effectively. Building trust and health literacy prior to an emergency are key preventative strategies. Other research has found an association with high levels of social media exposure and information overload, information anxiety, and information avoidance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e]. Although we did not look at volume of narratives by theme for this study, looking at patterns of narrative expressions by theme (i.e., by information avoidance or dismissal) mapped to total volume and key events may provide further interesting insights.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe use of emoji, in particular eyeroll, yawn and confused faces, to express pandemic fatigue shows the challenges in finding and identifying narratives. Further research may be enhanced by including image analysis. The complexity in defining the search strategy for this research shows the nuanced approach that is needed, and our search strategy benefited from rounds of iteration and testing. The work done in defining both pandemic fatigue search terms as well as themes of expression will be useful for further research. More research is needed in languages other than English and over a longer timeframe.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGuidance for action on mitigating pandemic fatigue includes risk communication and community engagement and consultation, risk reduction, and acknowledgement of the situations [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. As the science and public health recommendations change throughout a health emergency, there is a need to carefully consider how the infodemic ecosystem impacts users, to effectively manage narratives regarding trust in health authorities. There are lessons to be learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic that can be applied to future infodemic planning. Infodemic management is a key component in the draft WHO white paper, \u0026lsquo;10 Proposals to build a safer world together\u0026rsquo;, under proposal 4, \u0026lsquo;Strengthen global health emergency alert and response teams that are trained to common standards, interoperable, rapidly deployable, scalable and equipped\u0026rsquo; [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. Using digital and offline data to create infodemic insights for action, guided by appropriate frameworks, can help to enhance timely response and work towards the prevention and mitigation of the infodemic.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLimitations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe themes we identified in our analysis describe the different way users\u0026rsquo; express pandemic fatigue, however, our work was only conducted over a short time-period and only from online sources that had publicly accessible data. As this was an exploratory exercise, with significant testing of keywords, the search was conducted only in the English language. There is a need for broader investigations including in other languages and with offline sources. This research identified six themes of pandemic fatigue expression, but additional, or different themes may be identified using longer search periods or refined search terms. Due to the various ways user\u0026rsquo;s express narratives of fatigue, and how they cross-over with other more specific narratives, defining and understanding pandemic fatigue is complex. This work adds to the evidence by outlining some themes of expression.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper is the first that we are aware that has sought to define and categorise expression of pandemic fatigue by digital online users during a defined period. It has shown the different ways pandemic fatigue is expressed and how it is interwoven with issues of trust, PHSM acceptance and users expressing being overwhelmed. There are clear pathways for future research in this area, in particular looking to understand how this concept is expressed in other languages, in offline settings and what impact pandemic fatigue has on actual PHSM, vaccines, treatments, or diagnostics uptake and adherence. As we move to strengthen the global architecture for health emergency preparedness, prevention, readiness, and resilience, better understanding the implications of the infodemic ecosystem on user\u0026rsquo;s perceptions, questions and concerns is vital.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Abbreviations","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionList\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePHSM\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003ePublic Health and Social Measures\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eWHO\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWorld Health Organization\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003ePHEIC\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublic Health Emergency of International Concern\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch3\u003eEthical approval and consent to participate\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data analysed in this analysis was sourced through a commercial social listening platform MeltWater which samples publicly available content from social media and online forum. Ethics review committee approval was not sought because the project involved no no interaction or intervention with the individual about whom data are being collected (e.g., this involved using MeltWater platform in sampling of data from public Twitter feeds; public Facebook profiles or wall postings; information from public forums, open chat rooms, etc.). However, when analysing and reporting on the narratives, the analysis team considered users\u0026rsquo; expectations and intentions, and the possible harm to users stemming from reporting on sensitive topics, and vulnerable groups. Therefore, quotations used to illustrate identified narratives were paraphrased to protect against retrievability of specific posts. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot applicable\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAvailability of Data and Materials\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBW, AI, TDP, TN, SB, KR, RT, MD, RO, RSS and CS\u0026nbsp;are consultants or staff members of the World Health Organization. The authors alone\u0026nbsp;are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the World Health Organization.\u0026nbsp;LL, AW, TF\u0026nbsp;are employed by a media monitoring company that provides a wide range of services to clients in media\u0026nbsp;monitoring and listening, including the WHO. The work described in this paper was part of their contractual service to the WHO.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFunding\u0026nbsp;\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWork of LL, AW, TF was funded by World Health Organization.\u0026nbsp;The work described in this paper was part of their contractual service to the WHO.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthors\u0026rsquo; Contributions\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBKW, AI and TDP designed the analysis and methods. LL, AW, TF conducted data collection, analysis and reporting on contract to WHO. BKW and AI carried out the qualitative analysis of dominant narratives. TDP, TN, SB, KR, RT, MD, RO, RSS, CS provided expert review and contextualisation on context of findings. All authors critically reviewed the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWorld Health Organization. 2020. 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Inf Process Manag. 2021;58(2):102440\u0026ndash;. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102440\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102440\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Pandemic fatigue, COVID-19, mpox, infodemic, preparedness, prevention","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2697555/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2697555/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe infodemic accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an overwhelming amount of information, including questions, concerns and misinformation. Pandemic fatigue has been identified as a concern from early in the pandemic. With new and ongoing health emergencies in 2022, it is important to understand how pandemic fatigue is being discussed and expressed by users on digital channels.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis paper describes the collection of publicly available data over a 3-month period from multiple online sources using Meltwater, CrowdTangle to source data from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Product Reviews, Twitch, blogs \u0026amp; forums. A comprehensive search strategy was developed and tested. A total of 1,484,042 social media posts were identified during the time-period that included the defined search terms for pandemic fatigue. These data were initially sorted by highest levels of engagement and from this dataset, analysts reviewed the mentions to isolate and remove irrelevant content and identify dominant narratives. A thematic analysis was carried out on these narratives to identify themes related to expression of pandemic fatigue. Two researchers reviewed the data and themes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe thematic analysis of narratives identified six main themes relating to expression of pandemic fatigue, and one theme of counter narratives against pandemic fatigue. Data volume increased concurrent with the time of the mpox emergency announcement. Emergent themes showed the different ways users expressed pandemic fatigue and how it was interlaced with issues of trust, preventative measure acceptance and uptake, misinformation, and being overwhelmed with multiple or sustained emergencies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis paper has identified the different ways users express pandemic fatigue on digital channels over a 3-month period. Better understanding the implications of the infodemic ecosystem on user’s perceptions, questions, and concerns regarding pandemic and more broadly emergency fatigue is vital in identifying relevant interventions and, in the longer term, strengthening the global architecture for health emergency preparedness, prevention, readiness and resilience, as evidenced in this paper. There are clear pathways for further research, including incorporating additional languages and reviewing these themes over longer time periods.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Expressions of pandemic fatigue on digital platforms: A thematic analysis of sentiment and narratives for infodemic insights","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2023-03-31 21:23:02","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2697555/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Major revision","date":"2023-08-08T08:41:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2023-08-05T15:45:22+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"4aa6d0da-7642-418f-9e91-faf4885e32e3","date":"2023-08-01T14:17:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2023-06-20T16:06:22+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"bbfbe237-6bc8-42f7-95bc-d0b8797e8e78","date":"2023-06-12T14:58:08+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2023-05-23T18:08:22+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"640909bf-a77c-4411-9b7e-091ea6a4fe80_SNPRID","date":"2023-05-11T16:08:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2023-05-04T02:48:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2023-05-04T02:44:07+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2023-03-29T12:02:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2023-03-29T11:48:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Public Health","date":"2023-03-15T17:37:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"56fdb15c-a064-489e-a712-4a2bbd42d79b","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 31st, 2023","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-03-11T15:03:03+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-2697555","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-17718-4","journal":{"identity":"bmc-public-health","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Public Health"},"publishedOn":"2024-03-05 15:00:53","publishedOnDateReadable":"March 5th, 2024"},"versionCreatedAt":"2023-03-31 21:23:02","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s12889-024-17718-4","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-17718-4","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-2697555","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-2697555","identity":"rs-2697555","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"_2-kVJe1T_tPrBINL-cwx","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}