Twitter Annotations for Asthma Surveillance
This document describes the annotation scheme used to annotate Tweets
collected starting July 3, 2012, using keywords related to Asthma.
The categorization scheme is a set of binary values representing a given tweet’smembership in a set of classes. For each class, a tweet receives a 1 if it belongsto that class, and a 0 otherwise. Class membership is not mutually exclusive. A tweet may easily fall into a subet of classes, rather than just one.
The classes I have been annotating so far are:
Experiencer Labels describe who is experiencing asthma. Possible ExperiencerLabels are Self, Family, Friend, Other and Unidentified.
describes Tweets where the user is describing their own experience with
asthma (symptoms, medication, etc). Tweets can fall into this category becausethe user uses pronouns like “I,” “me,” or “my,” but also because the user usesDiary Tense, where first person reports are indicated without subject pronouns.
If a first-person pronoun is contained within a Retweet or quotation marks
that indicate reported speech, it may still not be annotated as “Self,” since thesepronouns would then not refer to the user.
Examples of Tweets that would fall into this category:
@MarthaBazzanks omfg asthma attack. What is air?!?!:0
RT @JakkiSteck: Wendy’s run to tops? .just kidding, I have asthma@mmusialowski13
RT @AnMarie_Shannon: Omg. Too much weed smell. I got asthma.
tweets are those that reference symptoms experienced by an identi-
fied family member of the Twitter user. Because of the dificulty of identifyingrelationships between users, mentions of others’ @UserNames are not countedas potential determining factors for categorizing a tweet into this class.
If the familial term is contained in a quotation or Retweet, it is classified as
The following tweets would be classified as Family:
@asthmauk what is an effective way to fight asthma? my daughter’sis triggered by the sudden change in weather. thank you.
@amirasabina omg sorry i wasn’t but aw i’m sorry my cousin has asthma too
Any moms with a baby who has asthma? I have a question!
Tweets are those where the Twitter user mentions a friend of theirs
has been experiencing symptoms. Only those tweets that explicitly mentionfriendship terms (“friend,” “bro,” “amigo” etc) fall into this category. Again,quotations and retweets involving these terms do not get put into this category,but instead fall into the category of Other.
Still, the following would not fall into the category Friend, since the friends
in question are not experiencing symptoms:
18 already sniffing blow, I tell my friends it’s asthma every timeI start to itch my throat.
The label Other is for tweets where some identified person is experienc-
ing symptoms, but it is not possible to determine what the sufferer’s relationshipto the Tweeter is. This includes cases where @UserNames are mentioned in theabsence of kin- or friend-ship terms, or where people or pronouns are mentionedin quotations. In order to fall into this category, tweets must contain a namedentity.
Karl Stephanus de Winnaar was last seen at around 8am in Bloemfonteinon29 June 2012. He has chronic Asthma. http://t.co/JBCKuneC
RT @AnMarie_Shannon: Omg. Too much weed smell. I got asthma.
Tweets not falling into the category Other:
I PROBABLY WILL AND IF THAT HAPPENS I DIE A HAPPY MAN. RT@CreepSquadFuego:Imagine he has another asthma attack
The label Unidentified is for tweets where it is not clear who
is experiencing symptoms, for instance because they are referred to using apronoun (such as “he” or “she”) or because they are referred to with an epithet(“the jerk.”) This label should be considered a catch-all category for tweets thatdon’t fall into any of the above categories, but that do mention that someoneis experiencing symptoms.
Regretting spilling a bottle of perfume down my shirt before leavingthehouse. Someone WILL have an asthma attack on this bus. #me
Tweets receive the label Complaints if the Tweeter is expressing
negative sentiment about any aspect of their experience of asthma – be it acomplaint that their medication isn’t working, or that they are experiencingsymptoms or that someone else in their life has asthma and it is annoying them. Negative sentiment may be expressed using words or using Emoticons.
Tweets fall into the category of Medication if they mention
asthma medication - either by brand name or by terms like “inhaler” or “asthmapump.”
Ahh, #Singulair is a godsend! #sweetrelief Buy Singulair->tco/EfJrhjqg Buy Singulair
I guess there really is a crazy cat lady anywhere. Eee Coco!!!Thank God I have my inhaler with me. WHEW!!!
Tweets are tagged as Symptoms if they mention asthma symp-
toms such as “wheezing” indicate that an asthma attack took place.
@SieraBlan @Stephanie_Ayy I totally had an asthma attack!!!
RT @_absolutelylex: Scrappy having a asthma attack <<<<
A Tweet receives the label Triggers if the Tweeter mentions factors
that trigger asthma, such as physical activities and allergies (which also receivetheir own labels, see below), as well as weather, strong emotions (laughing,crying) and so on.
PATIENT WATCHING TYPE M FIREWORKS SHOW, SMOKE FROM FIREWORKS TRIGGEREDTROUBLE BREATHING, WHEEZING, BEGAN VOMITING http://t.co/c5SQNAOS
RT @SoccerrProblems: Props to the kids who fight through their asthmajust to keep playing the game they love
Health & Safety - are you aware of the substances that can causeoccupational asthma?
i know a couple people with asthma who smoke. RT @OfficialElSii:I never smoked before. I’m asthmatic. I would pass out.
A tweet is a member of the category Sports if the user mentions any
kind of physical activity in conjunction with terminology related to Asthma. This need not be organized sporting events – an individual mentioning joggingor swimming as a trigger of their asthma would fall into this category, as woulda mention of football or soccer.
already threw up twice, had an asthma attack, dry heaved for 20minutes.i am hot mess when it comes to running. #hateit
RT @SoccerrProblems: Props to the kids who fight through their asthmajust to keep playing the game they love
Tweets bear the label Allergies if they mention allergies as well as
False alarm its just allergies and or asthma. Thnx for not worryinga**holes.
asthma and allergies acting up. bby p spitting out food #icantdeal
I seriously need to get tested for asthma and allergies. Can’t breatheand sneeze like a moron every 5 seconds!!
The label Needed Intervention indicates that a
Tweet contained a reference to seeking medical attention – either through aregularly scheduled doctor’s appointment, or due to an emergency intervention.
Just got in from the er so sick.n tired i hate asthma
Off to the dr later cos my asthma is bad again hope they sort me outsoon
The label Suggestions applies to tweets that provide sugges-
RT @CDC_eHealth: Check out our new iPad app:Disease of the Week. Learnabout Asthma & how certain things can trigger an asthma attac .
Asthma in pregnancy: How to avoid complications - http://t.co/oDyApv8x
Health Tip: Poor Air Quality Affects Kids With Asthma: Title: HealthTip:Poor Air Quality Affects Kids With Ast. http://t.co/NAQXduvM
This category is for links to News articles.
Exposure to Dogs Could Protect Kids From Asthma - Wired News: WiredNewsExposure to Dogs Could Protect Kids From. http://t.co/4kNEcZyR
Asthma-Promoting Immune Cells Can Be Rewired So They No Longer CauseInflammation: Dr Rhys Allan from the instit. http://t.co/h1FBKLuY
The label Information is for information that does not fit
Older people with asthma run greater risks Health MiamiHeraldcom: AUniversity of Cincinnati study recently publ. http://t.co/cYUc3uGB
Your Health Health Tip: Poor Air Quality Affects Kids With Asthma:(HealthDay News) -- When the weather h. http://t.co/4WFnOmm3 Newest
The label Lost Inhaler is for tweets that indicate an inability
to access an inhaler when needed. This can either be related to the tweeterneeding their inhaler and having misplaced it, or any other symptom experiencernot being ale to find and use their inhaler.
OHHH OK FOUND MY INHALER IT’S RIGHT HEREEEEE
Always loves it when I forget to takey hayfever tablets and asthmapumps :-):-):-)
Tweets are tagged as Spam if they are attempting to sell products,
or if they are diverting users to a website that sells products, or if they arepromoting a course of treatment without having a personal relationship withthe people receiving the suggestions.
Ahh, #Singulair is a godsend! #sweetrelief Buy Singulair ->tco/EfJrhjqg Buy Singulair
#Asthmamist / #natural homeopathic spray fortified with ingredients toalleviate symptoms associated with #asthma http://t.co/SwNpsyMJ
Tweets are tagged as Questions if the Tweeter is asking a ques-
tion, which may or may not be asthma-related.
And I have come to the gym with no inhaler why?
What Allergies Cause Asthma?http://t.co/mZpK5QON http://t.co/7dIRW7iF
How many of ya’ll Aggies almost had an asthma attack say "NorthCarolina Agricultural & Technical State University" in one breath
Tweets are tagged as Non-English if they contain non-English
@Rahmadanti Hii ni amy! Iya asma lagi di lombok skrg, mggu lalu dibali.
RT @asmanadia: modis boleh selama syari:) Beberapa ready, beberapasegera:) koleksi ramadhan dan lebaran busana Asma Nadia:) https://t.c.
Mandair Per Chand by Asma Qadri http://t.co/dSheSsJz
Tweets are tagged as Future if they express thoughts about events
I hope my kids doesn’t have to deal with health issues. Having asthmais no joke. And then having sinuses AND allergies is just deadly smh
Regretting spilling a bottle of perfume down my shirt before leavingthe house. Someone WILL have an asthma attack on this bus. #me
I PROBABLY WILL AND IF THAT HAPPENS I DIE A HAPPY MAN. RT@CreepSquadFuego:Imagine he has another asthma attack
Tweets are tagged as Jokes if they appear to be telling a joke, either
RT @ComedyTruth: Boy: When you left, you took my breath away. Girl:Awww, that’s so cute! Boy: Cute?!?! B****, YOU TOOK MY INHALER. I SU .
RT @ThatBearTed: With a name like lil weezy I wouldn’t be surprised ifhe diedfrom a asthma attack.
RT @FunnyJokeBook:Writing. like. this. doesn’t. make. your. point. any. stronger. It. makes. it. look. like. your. computer. has. asthma.
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