A Sentiment Analysis of Persian Twitter over a Five-Year Period; From the Medical Error in the Death of a Celebrated Iranian Filmmaker to COVID-19

In recent years, the field of medicine in Iran has faced significant public scrutiny, influenced by two major health crises: the 2016 death of acclaimed filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami due to a medical error and the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines shifts in the emotional and discursive climate surrounding medicine and physicians on Persian Twitter before and after these events. Using relevant medical hashtags, over 131,000 tweets from 2015 to 2020 were analyzed through sentiment analysis, employing a rule-based approach with NVivo12 software. The findings reveal a sevenfold increase in tweets about medicine during Kiarostami’s death, accompanied by heightened negativity and associations of terms like "error," "negligence," and "mistake" with medicine which has resulted in the reconstruction of 'medical error.' Additionally, as a result of the association of the terms' error,' 'negligence,' and 'mistake' with 'medicine,' the obviousness of the physician's holiness and respect for medicine has deteriorated, and the association of the terms' value and credibility' with medicine has been de-naturalized. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the sentiment shifted positively, reflecting greater appreciation for the medical profession. This study highlights how public sentiment towards medicine changes in response to major health crises, emphasizing the interplay between public sphere and trust in healthcare systems. Understanding these dynamics can inform strategies to rebuild trust and address public concerns about medical practices.