Abstract Details

Title Too Long; Didn’t Read: How Epilepsy Patients Navigate Illness Through Reddit

Topic Epilepsy/Clinical Neurophysiology (EEG)

Presentation(s) P9 - Poster Session 9 (5:00 PM-6:00 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 11-010

Objective The objective of this study was to gain an expanded understanding of how individuals affected by epilepsy use the social media platform Reddit, by examining patterns of user engagement across different types of posts within the "r/Epilepsy" subreddit community.

Background Social media platforms, such as Reddit, have become influential spaces for public discourse and community formation. Within these virtual environments, individuals exchange experiences, seek advice, and disseminate both accurate and inaccurate information. The Reddit subgroup "r/Epilepsy" (60K+ members) functions as an active online community where individuals affected by epilepsy engage in peer-to-peer communication, share personal experiences, and offer support.

Design/Methods Data was collected from "r/Epilepsy" via Reddit’s public API over a three-year period. Posts were categorized by user-assigned “flairs,” which reflect the topic or intent of each post. Using Python programming and Microsoft Copilot, posts were analyzed for proportion of "flair" type and engagement metrics (total comments, mean and median comments per post, and average score). Analyses were performed in Python and summarized in Microsoft Excel with assistance from ChatGPT.

Results A total of 986 posts were analyzed. The most frequent flairs were “Question” (52.33%), “Rant” (13.29%), “Support” (11.56%), and “Medication” (8.62%), while “Victory” (2.33%), “Discussion” (1.83%), and “Advice” (1.42%) were least common. Posts labeled “Support” demonstrated the highest average user engagement (13.89 comments/post), followed by “Question” (12.17) and “Rant” (11.23). Despite comprising only 2.3% of all posts, “Victory” posts showed elevated engagement (~10 comments/post).

Conclusions Most Epilepsy posts on Reddit are information-seeking in nature; however, user engagement patterns indicate that emotional expression and social support elicit the greatest interaction. These findings highlight the dual role of online health communities in providing both informational and psychosocial support for individuals living with epilepsy.

Authors/Disclosures
Laura J. Silla, MD (Mayo Clinic Scottsdale) PRESENTER	Dr. Silla has nothing to disclose.
Matthew T. Hoerth, MD, FAAN (Mayo Clinic Arizona)	Dr. Hoerth has a non-compensated relationship as a Epilepsy.com Editorial Board member with the Epilepsy Foundation of America that is relevant to AAN interests or activities.
Katherine H. Noe, MD, PhD, FAAN (Mayo Clinic)	Dr. Noe has a non-compensated relationship as a committe member, Epilepsy MOC article review pilot with American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology that is relevant to AAN interests or activities.

��ɫ��

��ɫ��