Negative visual representation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease occurs online

Freya Berenyi; Sara Booth; Anna Spathis; Natasha Smallwood

doi:10.1183/23120541.00549-2020

Tables

TABLE 1

Online visual representation of cardiorespiratory illnesses

	COPD (n=100)	Asthma (n=100)	Heart disease (n=100)	IPF (n=100)
Image type
Photo	20 (20.0)	45 (45.0)	38 (38.0)	28 (28.0)
Figure/graph/diagram/table	50 (50.0)	20 (20.0)	25 (25.0)	31 (31.0)
Infographic	3 (3.0)	10 (10.0)	7 (7.0)	9 (9.0)
Cartoon	14 (14.0)	2 (2.0)	5 (5.0)	2 (2.0)
Graphic	5 (5.0)	5 (5.0)	13 (13.0)	11 (11.0)
Other (slide, poster, GIF)	8 (8.0)	18 (18.0)	12 (12.0)	19 (19.0)
Target audience
Patient	36 (36.0)	65 (65.0)	69 (69.0)	59 (59.0)
Clinician	62 (62.0)	20 (20.0)	26 (26.0)	36 (36.0)
Either	1 (1.0)	12 (12.0)	4 (4.0)	5 (5.0)
Cigarette use in image	4 (4.0)	0	0	1 (1.0)
Images with depiction of human (photo or cartoon) n	20	39	32	24
Positive image^#
Wearing active-wear or exercising, happy or calm facial expression	6 (30.0)	22 (56.4)	7 (23.3)	10 (47.6)
Negative image^#
Grimacing, coughing, difficulty exercising	14 (70.0)	2 (5.1)	5 (16.7)	9 (42.8)
Neither positive or negative (e.g. person sitting while doctor listening to lungs) n	0	15	21	2
Image of person not included due to lack of relevance (research presenter etc.) n	0	0	2	3
Male gender^#	16 (80.0)	11 (28.2)	18 (60.0)	14 (66.7)
White ethnicity^#	16 (80.0)	35 (89.7)	27 (90.0)	21 (100)
Elderly^#	8 (40.0)	0	8 (26.7)	16 (76)

Data are presented n (%) unless otherwise stated. Some images included pictures of males and females or people of different ages or of different racial backgrounds, meaning than one image was sometimes counted in two categories. IPF: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; GIF: graphics interchange format. ^#: for these categories percentages are calculated using the number of images which included people in photos or cartoons for each search (not the total of 100).