Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41855431›Full record

ArticleJMIR infodemiology2026

Social Media Perspectives on a Future HIV Vaccine: Mixed Methods Analysis.

Megan A Rabin, Sarah Penuela-Wermers, Neil K R Sehgal, Teniola I Egbe, Criswell L M Lavery, Sharath Chandra Guntuku, Alison M Buttenheim

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR infodemiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Megan A RabinDepartment of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States, 1 2158987136.ORCID 0009-0009-0456-8588
Sarah Penuela-WermersDepartment of Family and Community Health, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.ORCID 0009-0008-7440-6085
Neil K R SehgalComputer and Information Science Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-2532-8531
Teniola I EgbeDepartment of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States, 1 2158987136.ORCID 0009-0007-5492-0899
Criswell L M LaveryPhiladelphia VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-5498-0209
Sharath Chandra GuntukuComputer and Information Science Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-2929-0035
Alison M ButtenheimDepartment of Family and Community Health, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.ORCID 0000-0003-2432-1637

Funding

Inoculating and boosting against HIV vaccine misinformation among adolescent girls and young women in South AfricaR01MH132401 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI BUTTENHEIM, ALISON MEREDITH, MAUGHAN-BROWN, BRENDAN GEOFFREY · 2023 to 2024
$1.2M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH132401
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: As the prospect of an HIV vaccine nears reality, understanding public discourse around the vaccine is essential for informing communication strategies and addressing misinformation. Social media platforms are influential spaces where public narratives form, yet little research has examined discourse around an HIV vaccine, especially on TikTok. Objective: This study aims to compare and characterize public discourse about a future HIV vaccine across Twitter (subsequently rebranded X) and TikTok, identifying prevailing themes, sentiments, and rhetorical strategies to inform public health communication. Methods: From over 400,000 tweets and 65,000 TikTok comments, we analyzed the 1000 most-liked posts on each platform using natural language processing and coded the top 500 most-liked posts for rhetorical strategies, sentiment, and themes. Results: Our findings reveal expressions of hope and trust in science on both platforms, as well as concerns about institutional corruption and conspiracy theories, such as the belief that the HIV vaccine responds to harm caused by the COVID-19 vaccine. Tweets tended to be more linguistically complex and yielded richer insights, while TikTok comments were shorter and more difficult to interpret without video context. Key rhetorical strategies included conspiracy theories, post hoc reasoning, and emotional appeals. Conclusions: This study underscores the need for platform-specific communication strategies to address misinformation and build public trust. The findings offer timely insights into emerging HIV vaccine discourse and highlight actionable opportunities for public health stakeholders to build trust and combat misinformation in advance of the vaccine rollout.

Indexed as

AIDS VaccinesHIV InfectionsSocial MediaCOVID-19HumansPublic OpinionAIDS Vaccinesattitude to healthconspiracy theorieshealth communicationHIV vaccinesmisinformationnatural language processingpublic opinionqualitative researchsocial mediavaccine hesitancy

Identifiers

PMID41855431
PMCPMC13001999

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.