Using Topic Modeling to Understand Patients' and Caregivers' Perspectives About Left Ventricular Assist Device: Thematic Analysis.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a significant global clinical and public health challenge, impacting 64.3 million individuals worldwide. To address the scarcity of donor organs, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation has become a crucial intervention for managing end-stage HF, serving as a bridge to heart transplantation or as a destination therapy.

Analysing online forums to identify information needs and knowledge gaps in patients with left ventricular assist devices: a qualitative study.

Aims: The aim of the study was to explore the knowledge and unmet informational needs of candidates for left ventricular assist device (LVAD), as well as of patients, caregivers, and family members, by analysing social media data from the MyLVAD.com website.

Methods And Results: A qualitative content analysis method was employed, systematically examining and categorizing forum posts and comments published on the MyLVAD.