Facebook Sentiment Analysis on Healthcare of Timor-Leste: Analysing public perception through social media

Abstract

This study investigates public sentiment toward healthcare in Timor-Leste using Facebook comments from four pages: the Ministry of Health, Guido Valadares National Hospital, ANTIL, and Jornal Independente.

Data from November 2023 to November 2024 were analyzed using Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, including Python’s VADER sentiment analyzer. The study categorized sentiments as positive, neutral, or negative and identified key healthcare themes, such as medicine availability, good healthcare policy, poor healthcare management, and health services.

From the 2,095 comments analyzed, results reveal that positive sentiment dominates at 58.4%, followed by neutral (22.7%) and negative (18.9%). Comments on institutional pages showed predominantly positive sentiments, attributed to posts highlighting achievements and activities. Conversely, news agency posts received more negative sentiments due to coverage of issues like medicine shortages and hospital service criticisms.

The findings demonstrate the significant role of agenda-setting and social media framing in shaping public perceptions of healthcare. This analysis highlights the need for strategic communication and reforms in healthcare delivery to address public concerns. It underscores the importance of using social media as a tool for gathering public feedback and enhancing healthcare policies in Timor-Leste.