USING SOCIAL LISTENING TO MONITOR ONLINE PERCEPTIONS OF IMMUNIZATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, NOVEMBER 2025–APRIL 2026

Abstract

Objectives. To assess perceptions, emotions, and the main themes associated with immunization in the online environment in the Republic of Moldova using social listening techniques during the period from 1 November 2025 to 30 April 2026.

Methods. A retrospective descriptive observational study was conducted based on the analysis of digital conversations related to immunization using the Talkwalker online monitoring and analytics platform. Digital mentions, unique authors, engagement, potential reach, conversation sentiment, associated emotions, communication languages, media types, and estimated demographic characteristics of users were analyzed.

Results. During the study period, approximately 1.9 thousand online mentions generated by 407 unique authors were identified, accumulating approximately 29.9 thousand interactions. The cumulative potential reach estimated by the platform was 77.1 million; this metric does not represent the number of distinct individuals exposed. Neutral sentiment accounted for 64.5% of all mentions, negative sentiment for 29%, and positive sentiment for 6.5%. The net sentiment score was −63.2%. The main emotions identified were anger, fear, and sadness. The thematic analysis identified topics related to vaccination, vaccination status, vaccine safety and effectiveness, and adverse events following vaccination.

Conclusions. Social listening can serve as a complementary tool for monitoring online conversations related to immunization by identifying themes and concerns requiring a communication response. The findings reflect the online conversations analyzed and cannot be extrapolated to the attitudes of the entire population of the Republic of Moldova.