Brian Gutermuth, MD, MSc, Gal Hodish, MPH, Megan Adams, MD, JD, MSc, Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, MD, MS University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Introduction: Routine endoscopy is important for colorectal cancer screening, surveillance, and other diagnostic and therapeutic indications. However, only 2 in 3 patients successfully complete recommended endoscopic procedures. People are increasingly turning to social media to seek support, knowledge, and advice on medical topics. We aimed to identify key domains in community conversations related to peri-endoscopy concerns on a popular social media platform to inform the development of evidence-based interventions to improve endoscopy completion rates. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using Reddit social media data (11/1/2024-1/27/2025) to examine community conversations regarding peri-endoscopy concerns. We leveraged the Brandwatch social media search tool to identify relevant posts from the r/UlcerativeColitis, r/CrohnsDisease, r/GERD, and r/Cirrhosis subreddits. A theory-driven rapid qualitative analysis approach was used to categorize data into Health Belief Model constructs which describe perceived susceptibility, severity, benefit, barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action as major predictors of health behavior. Results: We identified 520 posts that met inclusion criteria, including 321 (61.7%) from r/Gerd, 87 (16.7%) from r/UlcerativeColitis, 71 (13.7%) from r/CrohnsDisease, 36 (6.9%) from r/IBD, and 4 (0.7%) from r/Cirrhosis subreddits (Figure 1). Qualitative analysis findings highlighted that people utilize Reddit to share concerns, seek advice, and share experiences in five key topic areas: (1) perceived susceptibility to sedation or procedure-related adverse events (17.9% of posts), (2) the potential for serious findings, which motivates most to complete recommendations for endoscopy, but hinders adherence for others (11.2% of posts), (3) long awaited endoscopic diagnoses and treatment (10% of posts), (4) both physical and mental access barriers to endoscopy completion (39.2% of posts), (5) perseveration and catastrophizing, which negatively impact patient confidence in completing endoscopy (41.5% of posts), and (6) peer support promoting endoscopy completion (34.8% of posts, Table 1). Discussion: Perceived susceptibility to adverse events, anticipated severity of endoscopic findings, potential benefit of timely examination, access barriers, and confidence in pre-procedure preparation may contribute to endoscopy completion. These findings can inform pre-procedure counseling, education, and support to improve completion rates.
Figure: Figure 1. Study diagram of key search terms and included posts by subreddit
Figure: Table 1. Qualitative Topic Areas Based in the Health Belief Model that Impact Endoscopy Completion
Disclosures: Brian Gutermuth indicated no relevant financial relationships. Gal Hodish indicated no relevant financial relationships. Megan Adams indicated no relevant financial relationships. Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Brian Gutermuth, MD, MSc, Gal Hodish, MPH, Megan Adams, MD, JD, MSc, Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, MD, MS. P0851 - Perceptions Impacting Endoscopy Completion Based in Reddit Community Conversations, ACG 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Phoenix, AZ: American College of Gastroenterology.
