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Motivations and Limitations Associated with Vaping among People with Mental Illness: A Qualitative Analysis of Reddit Discussions
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Motivations and limitations associated with vaping among people with mental illness: a qualitative analysis of Reddit discussions
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol.14(1), 7
22/12/2016
PMCID: PMC5295258
PMID: 28025516
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Source: InCites
Abstract
This study aims to understand the nature and significance of online lay discussions about e-cigarettes and mental illness. We systematically searched the website Reddit.com using keywords related to e-cigarettes and mental illness. We coded relevant posts into themes under the framework of motivations for and limitations of vaping for people with mental illness. The thematic analysis included 3263 comments from 133 discussion threads. Six themes were classified as motivations to vape for people with mental illness: Self-medication; Quitting smoking; Freedom and control; Hobby; Social connectedness; and Motivation from caregivers and online communities. The limitations of vaping included: Unsatisfactory substitute for cigarettes and psychiatric medicines; Drug interactions; Nicotine addiction; Risks of e-liquid; Practical difficulties and Cost. People with mental illness; and their carers; use online discussion boards like Reddit to discuss the benefits and limitations of e-cigarettes for people with mental illness. Both positive and negative views exist. Media platforms like Reddit may shape the opinions of stakeholders and generate lay expertise about contentious health topics such as e-cigarettes. These findings have implications for policy and practice concerning assisting smokers with mental illness to reduce their health risk through switching to e-cigarettes.
Details
- Title
- Motivations and limitations associated with vaping among people with mental illness: a qualitative analysis of Reddit discussions
- Creators
- Ratika Sharma - University of QueenslandBritta Wigginton - School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia. b.wigginton@uq.edu.auCarla Meurk - Queensland Centre for Mental Health ResearchPauline Ford - School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia. p.ford1@uq.edu.auCoral E Gartner - School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia. c.gartner@uq.edu.au
- Publication Details
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol.14(1), 7
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Identifiers
- 991012996492002368
- Copyright
- © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article