YouTube viewers’ comments on the opioid epidemic offer solutions to help chronic pain patients

Abstract

Abstract Background Approximately 34.3 million people used prescription opioids for non-medical reasons globally in 2016. In addition, many of the 1.5 billion people worldwide who suffer from chronic pain use opioids. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 76% of overdose deaths are caused by prescription and non-prescription opioids. Opioid use disorder and addiction encompass many aspects; such as, economic forces, cultural forces and individual genetic makeup. Because of this complexity, policymakers will have to address chronic pain and social determinants of health. Understanding the public's perspectives on the opioid epidemic is critical for policymakers to create awareness and treatment programs to decrease opioid related deaths while treating pain. Methods This inductive, iterative approach to content analysis of secondary data collected 8,761 comments posted by viewers on ten videos regarding the opioid epidemic on CNN's YouTube Channel and ten videos on Fox News' YouTube channel posted between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018. Results After analyzing 8,761 comments, from 20 videos, results indicated 618 (7%) were pain patients, 926 (10.6%) of the comments indicated stigma, (54.5% social stigma and 30% structural stigma). 5,453 (62.2%) of the comments posted claims regarding the opioid epidemic and 1,881 (21.5%) offered solutions. Three of the major solutions offered include legalizing cannabis (608, 7%), developing alternative therapies (174, 1.9%), and kratom (105, 1.2%). Conclusions Reducing access to opioids is harming legitimate pain patients. Policymakers need to take the public's opinions into consideration when developing policies and programs that help reduce opioid overdose. These policies must ensure that the 1.5 billion chronic pain patients worldwide receive adequate pain control in order to have a good quality of life that allows them to be contributing members of society. Key messages Worldwide, 1.5 billion people suffer from chronic pain, many without access to adequate pain control. Solutions posted by viewers include cannabis, alternative therapies and kratom. Understanding the public’s perspectives will help policymakers create programs that improve quality of life for chronic pain patients that minimize social, internalized and structural stigma.