Charting water sanitation concerns within vulnerable communities and international contexts on X

This study used a computational exploratory approach to examine X discourse on water sanitation challenges in the Black Belt region in the United States and compared it with larger international contexts. The research sought to uncover themes that impact salient environmental health issues and support future interventions. A two-part research question addressing the nature of water issues in a local and global context, resulted in a data set (n = 12, 472 observations) analyzed using computational text analysis. Findings indicated that there was limited attention of issues discussed in the Black Belt region. On the other hand, global communication resulted in a greater discussion surrounding community-level problems and the very public nature of concerns, despite both issues being public-facing. Study findings contribute to the body of knowledge on social media discourse that develops as environmental health challenges develop into broader issues that emerge as global health risks.