Understanding Public Perceptions of Immunisation Using Social Media

This project examined how analysis of social media data could be used to understand public perceptions on immunisation. In collaboration with the Ministry of Development Planning (Bappenas), the Ministry of Health, UNICEF and World Health Organisation (WHO) in Indonesia, Pulse Lab Jakarta filtered tweets for relevant conversations about vaccines and immunisation. Findings included identification of perception trends including concerns around religious issues, disease outbreaks, side effects and the launch of a new vaccine. The results built on Global Pulse’s previous explorations in this field, confirming that real-time information derived from social media conversations could complement existing knowledge of public opinion and lead to faster and more effective response to misinformation, since rumours often spread through social networks.