Directed content analysis of stuttering discourse on a Ghanaian social media platform.

PURPOSE: Social media platforms are influential online spaces for public discourse, including health-related discussions. This exploratory study examined how members of the Ghanaian Facebook community "Tell It All" expressed their beliefs about the causes of stuttering, management strategies, and their attitudes toward people who stutter.

METHOD: Using a search-based sampling approach, 12 positive hits out of 29 original user posts from 2021 to 2025 were selected for analysis. Data from 658 comments related to these 12 original posts were analyzed using a deductive-inductive qualitative content analysis approach.

RESULTS

The descriptive analysis revealed that participants attributed the cause(s) of stuttering to behavioral (62%), biological (27%), psychological (6%), and supernatural (5%) factors. Management approaches suggested included self-management (42%), punitive measures (20%), medical interventions (14%), traditional and cultural remedies (13%), environmental avoidance (4%), religious healing (3%), wait-and-see (2%), and self-help groups (1%). Based on coding instances, Facebook users most frequently expressed supportive attitudes (77%), followed by mocking (17%) and stigmatizing (6%). Correspondingly, posts seeking advice or emotional support attracted the most user engagement (98%), including high percentages of emojis, "likes," "cares," and "sad," whereas informational posts (2%) received fewer comments.

CONCLUSIONS

The current findings highlight the active role of social media as both a source of social support and a potential platform for the initiation and/or spreading of misconceptions about stuttering, underscoring the importance of targeted digital health literacy programs and inclusive online interventions.