#ReproHealth: a state-based investigation of reproductive health rights policy and social media activity

Social media is a critical avenue for national discourse – raising awareness, advocating for specific campaigns, mocking current events, and truly revealing the pulse of a nation though the lens of its citizens. With the current fascination regarding big data, there is a push towards discovering correlations between one’s behavior online and their actions in the physical world. Our research seeks to establish a correlation between social media activity and policy in the context of reproductive health. We analyzed state-based reproductive rights policy along with Twitter activity related to reproductive health issues, and found a significant correlation between online political discourse within states and those states’ political and policy-oriented leanings on reproductive health

From her story, to our story: Digital storytelling as public engagement around abortion rights advocacy in Ireland

Despite the divisive nature of abortion within the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, where access to safe, legal abortion is severely restricted, effecting legislative reform demands widespread public support. In light of a building pro-choice counter-voice, this work contributes to a growing body of HCI research that takes an activist approach to design. We report findings from four design workshops with 31 pro-choice stakeholders across Ireland in which we positioned an exploratory protosite, HerStoryTold, to engender critical conversations around the use of sensitive abortion narratives as a tool for engagement. Our analysis shows how digital storytelling can help reject false narratives and raise awareness of the realities of abortion laws. It suggests design directions to curate narratives that provoke empathy, foster polyvocality, and ultimately expand the engaged community. Furthermore, this research calls for designers to actively support community mobilization through providing 'stepping stones' to activism

#ReproHealth: a state-based investigation of reproductive health rights policy and social media activity

Social media is a critical avenue for national discourse – raising awareness, advocating for specific campaigns, mocking current events, and truly revealing the pulse of a nation though the lens of its citizens. With the current fascination regarding big data, there is a push towards discovering correlations between one’s behavior online and their actions in the physical world. Our research seeks to establish a correlation between social media activity and policy in the context of reproductive health. We analyzed state-based reproductive rights policy along with Twitter activity related to reproductive health issues, and found a significant correlation between online political discourse within states and those states’ political and policy-oriented leanings on reproductive health