Social Media Insights Shed Light on Patient Experiences With Uncomplicated UTIs

Social media posts provide valuable insights into the opinions and experiences of patients with uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIS), according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.1

Most studies on this patient population have focused on those recruited from clinical settings. The researchers noted that this may limit findings due to patients' willingness to share information and small, nonrepresentative sample sizes.

However, they highlighted that many patients seek medical information on social media before consulting health care professionals, with the number of global social media users projected to reach 5.85 billion by 2027.2 Consequently, the researchers viewed social media as a "promising route" to explore patients' concerns and experiences beyond traditional research methodologies.1

To better understand the patient experience, they analyzed social media posts discussing uUTIs. The researchers also conducted a quantitative analysis to assess the proportion of posts mentioning key uUTI therapies, home remedies, and health care practitioner (HCP) specialties.

To better understand patient experiences, the researchers analyzed qualitative and quantitative data from their social media posts about uncomplicated urinary tract infections. | Image Credit: escapejaja - stock.adobe.com

Using relevant keywords, they identified online posts from Veeva Link data sets, which included multiple public blogs and patient forums from June 2021 to June 2023. Posts were excluded if they were duplicates, lacked personal pronouns, were not written in English, discussed complicated UTIs, or were classified as spam or advertisements. Eligible posts were grouped into themes based on semantic similarities.

The primary objective was to gather patient perspectives on key elements of the uUTI experience, including HCP interactions, diagnosis, treatment, and recurrence. Additionally, quantitative data were analyzed to determine the frequency of posts discussing medications, home remedies, and HCP specialties.

The researchers identified over 42,000 unique eligible posts, mostly from Reddit (n = 29,506; 70%). Most posts came from users in the US (n = 6707; 60%), followed by the United Kingdom (n = 2261; 20%), Canada (n = 509; 5%), Germany (n = 356; 3%), and India (n = 320; 3%). After clustering, approximately 3600 posts were included in the final analysis.

From these posts, 6 main themes emerged: symptom awareness and information seeking, HCP interactions, diagnosis and management challenges, management with antibiotics, self-management, and challenges with recurrent UTIs.

Overall, the researchers found that many patients sought information online before consulting a health care professional, underscoring the importance of peer support in the journeys of patients who have UTIs and the need for accessible web-based educational resources. Patient posts also highlighted difficulties in accessing in-person care and recounted inadequate interactions with HCPs, particularly male providers, who were often perceived as dismissive and lacking thorough diagnostic evaluations.

Regarding treatment, although many patients acknowledged the importance of antibiotics, they also expressed hesitation due to concerns about efficacy, adverse effects, and the risks of antimicrobial resistance. As a result, patient posts frequently discussed alternative treatments, like cranberry products and D-mannose. However, the researchers noted that these options are supported by mixed or low-level clinical trial evidence.

Additionally, the quantitative analysis included 9619 posts from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, and India that referenced antibiotics, home remedies, and HCP specialists. Among these, 76% (n = 7270) mentioned antibiotics only, 13% discussed home remedies only, and 11% referenced both. Across Canada, the US, and the UK, home remedies were discussed more frequently than specific antibiotic medications, with cranberry products and D-mannose being mentioned the most.

As for HCP specialties, specialist providers (urologists, gynecologists, and urogynecologists) were mentioned more frequently in posts from the US (77%) and Canada (62%) compared with the UK (51%). Also, urgent care or nurse practitioners were referenced in 3% of posts from the UK vs 27% in Canada and 22% in the US. Lastly, pharmacists were discussed far more often in posts from Canada (14%) than from those in the UK or the US (2% for both).

The researchers acknowledged several limitations of their study, including the potential underrepresentation of older patients, who tend to use social media less frequently than their younger counterparts. Additionally, those who shared their experiences online may have had more troublesome UTI experiences. Despite these limitations, the researchers expressed confidence in their findings.

“Overall, the insights gleaned in this study provide a more complete picture of patient behaviors and highlight the potential for HCP and patient education in addition to improved communication with HCPs to improved communication with HCPs to improve care,” the authors concluded.

References

1. Kramer ML, Polo JM, Kumar N, Mulgirigama A, Benkiran A. Living with and managing uncomplicated urinary tract infection: mixed methods analysis of patient insights from social media. J Med Internet Res. 2025;27:e58882. Published 2025 Mar 11. doi:10.2196/58882
2. Dixon SJ. Number of global social network users 2017-2027. 2023. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/