On June 22, CIC had the opportunity to participate in a media event called “Hepatitis B IWOM and Behavior Seminar” hosted by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) China in Hangzhou attended by over 30 major Chinese healthcare media. The focus of the event was the findings of our BMS commissioned study focusing on BBS conversations about Hepatitis B.

For the study, we looked at 117,752 messages around Hepatitis B issues written by 17,102 posters for October-December 2006.

Some of the key findings of the study are:
• Drug resistance and side effects are among top concerns discussed
• Hep B patients perceive that there is a “correct” sequence to selecting medicines (though this is disputed by some medical professionals)
• Over 70% of all posts expressed worry about posters’ condition or asked for help

Ultimately, BBS anonymous environment allows for Hep B sufferers to be very open in sharing their experiences and opinions (we of course did not and are even unable to collect any information related to posters’ actual identification) which makes the data very rich and a great source for insight. We are very proud that our findings led to a better understanding of the sufferers of this terrible disease. We are also proud that these findings are being used to better educate the media about their responsibility to get the latest, accurate information about the disease and its treatment to patients.

Some of the media articles reporting the event can be found here:
Link 1: http://hbv.39.net/hbv/zl/zlwq/253110.html
Link 2: http://www.ycwb.com/ycwb/2007-07/02/content_1534944.htm
Link 3: http://bbs.sz16.cn/topic.asp?boardid=20&topicid=28416