Weibo Users’ Emotion and Sentiment Orientation in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hao Gao,Jing Wu,Difan Guo,Lina Li

doi:10.1017/dmp.2021.259

Abstract

This study aimed to explore Chinese people's attitudes to the official application of TCM in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment. We collected data referring to TCM on Weibo from 0:00 on January 24, 2020, to 23:59:59 on March 31, 2020 (Beijing time). In addition, this study used DLUT-Emotion ontology to analyze the sentiment orientation and emotions of selected data and then conducted a text analysis. According to DLUT-Emotion ontology, we examined 3 sentiment orientations of 215,565 valid Weibo posts. Among them, 25,025 posts were judged as positive emotions, accounting for approximately 12%; 22,362 were regarded as negative emotions, accounting for approximately 10%; and 168,178 were judged as neutral emotions, accounting for approximately 78%. Results indicate that the words judged as "Good" have the highest frequency, and words marked as "Happy" have increased over time. The word frequency of "Fear" and "Sadness" showed a significant downward trend. Weibo users have a relatively positive attitude to the TCM in the COVID-19 treatment in general. Results of text analysis show that data with negative emotions is essentially an expression of public opinions to supporting TCM or not. Texts of "Fear" and "Sadness" do not reflect users' negative attitudes to TCM.

Highlights

Coupled with its long history and long-term impact in China, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an essential component of the Chinese medical industry
According to DLUT-Emotion ontology, we examined 3 sentiment orientations of 215,565 valid Weibo posts
25,025 posts were judged as positive emotions, accounting for approximately 12%; 22,362 were regarded as negative emotions, accounting for approximately 10%; and 168,178 were considered neutral emotions, accounting for approximately 78%

Summary

Introduction

Coupled with its long history and long-term impact in China, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an essential component of the Chinese medical industry. Some researchers found that too much “fake TCM” information misled the public after severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, which caused public prejudice against TCM.[1] In the early stage of the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China, the National Health Commission of the PRC officially wrote the TCM application into COVID-19 treatment protocols. Hot discussion about TCM was triggered on social media, including Sina Weibo. As an open platform for expressing opinions, Sina Weibo is a source of understanding the publics’ ideas and attitudes. To explore the public attitudes to the TCM application into the COVID-19 treatment, we researched the relevant discussion and topics on Sina Weibo. This study used emotion and sentiment analysis to analyze the public opinions expressed on Sina Weibo, answering 2 research questions

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion