Treato Finds Patients Demand Celebrities Be Ambassadors for Their Health Conditions

NEW YORK, March 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Patients have high expectations of celebrities with their same health condition.  Being a positive ambassador for the disease was most important to patients discussing celebrities online, according to a data analysis released today by Treato, the single largest source of online consumer insights on healthcare.    

Out of all celebrities examined Catherine Zeta-Jones was discussed the most positively by those with bipolar disorder, whereas Kim Kardashian was discussed the least positively among those with psoriasis.  Michael Douglas was the celebrity being discussed online as having brought the most awareness to what his health condition actually is, which is different from his wife, who is seen having the highest level of admiration.

Examined Celebrities & Their Health Conditions: 

Catherine Zeta-Jones & Bipolar Disorder: 

Catherine Zeta-Jones was discussed the most favorably by those with bipolar disorder, who said she is a role model and inspiration.  69 percent of all online discussions about her were positive, the most of any celebrity analyzed.  Patients with bipolar disorder described seeing her as a paragon of who they are: classy, well behaved and focused.

Kim Kardashian & Psoriasis:  

No one with psoriasis was positively discussing Kim Kardashian online.  Patients often mentioned the episode of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" in which she was diagnosed as harmful to the already established stigma of psoriasis.  There aren't "like me" discussions by those with psoriasis like there were by those discussing Catherine Zeta-Jones.  In discussions patients are annoyed that she could be an important ambassador for psoriasis, but doesn't actively participate in raising awareness.

Michael Douglas & Oral Cancer: 

Michael Douglas is the celebrity being discussed as having brought the most awareness to their health condition.  Many of the online discussions about him were by those who did not have cancer and didn't know that HPV can cause cancer.  Although he later attributed his tongue cancer to smoking, his illness created an abundant amount of awareness of the affects of HPV.  He is discussed as the second most relatable out of all the celebrities (following his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones).

President Jimmy Carter & Melanoma: 

Unlike any other celebrity, President Jimmy Carter was inherently seen as raising awareness for melanoma because of his social standing.  Patients were discussing how being a former president and his current humanitarian work already makes him a cancer advocate.  The majority of online discussions wished him well despite their political views of his presidency.  Treatment discussions were more common about him than any other celebrity.  Discussions about treatment are present in more than half (54 percent) of all discussions.  He is also the only celebrity in which a specific drug (Keytruda) is actively being discussed.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck & Celiac: 

Those with celiac did not view Elisabeth Hasselbeck as an ambassador despite the fact that she has written books about the disease.  More experienced celiac patients are critical of her books as they feel that there are a lot of inaccuracies and misinformation about the disease.

"Leveraging social data is an important business insight for pharma companies to consider when looking to use a celebrity spokesperson," says Ido Hadari, CEO of Treato.  "Before hiring someone you need to understand if this patient population sees them as an appropriate ambassador."

Find out more about Treato's celebrity health analysis.

Methodology: 

TreatoVoice is a unique data asset that continuously collects and analyzes more than two and a half billion patient and caregiver conversations happening across the Internet in real-time to understand what patients are saying about their experiences with their conditions and treatments. For this analysis Treato analyzed more than 700 online conversations in which patients were discussing celebrities and their associated health conditions.

About Treato: 

Treato™, the leading source of health insights from millions of real health consumers, uses patented analytics and big data technology to turn billions of disparate online conversations into meaningful social intelligence. With more than two billion posts analyzed and continuously expanding, Treato has partnered with 9 out of the world's top 10 pharma companies as well as numerous other multi-national pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations. Treato.com, its consumer website, helps millions of visitors each month. Treato is privately held with offices in Israel, New York and Princeton, NJ. Investors include Reed Elsevier Ventures, OrbiMed Partners and New Leaf Venture Partners, among others. For more information please visit https://treato.com/ 

SOURCE Treato